PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


Division  .EiZ^.  ^.(q.cL  -D 
Seciion..,^..Q^.\ 


Shelf. 


Number. 


^he  g0U0^halb  l^ibr^rg  of  Exposition. 


"The  design  of  the  Household  Library  of  Exposition  has  our 
heartiest  sympathy." — C.  H.  Spurgeo7i. 

"  Promises  to  render  important  aid  to  the  teacher  and  preacher  no 
less  than  to  the  general  Christian  reader." — Christian. 

"  Small  volumes,  convenient  in  size  and  price,  in  which  are  embodied 
the  matured  thoughts  and  the  results  of  the  careful  reading  of  some  of 
our  most  eminent  preachers  will,  we  cannot  but  think,  be  hailed  by 
numbers  of  Christian  families  as  meeting  a  distinct  want.  They  are 
practical  and  devotional — not  critical — and  are  admirably  adapted  for 
quiet  reading.  They  are  companions  which  the  devout  man  may  enjoy 
anywhere ;  they  are  suited  for  the  closet,  and  they  will  be  useful  also 
for  family  reading." — Congregationalist. 

i;  t^The  Household  Library  of  Exposition  was  a  happy  thought,  and  as 
volume  after  volume  passes  into  our  hands,  ^we  find  that  the  realisation  of 
the  thought  is  being  fully  and  adequately  wrought  out. " — Daily  Revieiv. 

"Admirable,  timely,  and  useful  series." — Literary  World, 


NOW  READY, 

THE  LIFE  OF  DAVID  AS  REFLECTED  IN   HIS  PSALMS. 

By  the  Rev.  Alexander  Maclaren,  D.D.,  Manchester. 
Fourth  Edition.      Three  Shillings  and  Sixpence. 

ADAM,  NOAH,  AND  ABRAHAM:    Readings  in  the  Book  of 
Genesis. 
By  the  Rev.  Joseph  Parker,   D.D.,   London.     Author  of 
"  Ecce  Deus,"  &c. 

Second  Edition.     Three  Shillings. 

ISAAC,  JACOB,  AND  JOSEPH. 

By  the  Rev.  Marcus  Dods,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 

Third  Edition.     Three  Shillings  and  Sixpence. 

THE  LAST  SUPPER  OF  OUR  LORD. 

By  the  Rev.  J.  Marshall  Lang,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 
Three  Shillings  and  Sixpence. 

THE  SPEECHES  OF  THE  HOLY  APOSTLES. 
By  the  Rev.  Donald  Eraser,  D.D.,  London. 
Three  Shillings  and  Sixpence. 


Wxt  ^onuhollb  pbrarg  of  ^xpomtion* 


IN  PREPARA  TION. 

THE  TWELVE  AND  THE  SEVENTY. 

By  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Grosart,  LL.D.,  Blackburn. 

THE  GALILEAN  GOSPEL. 

By  the  Rev.  Professor  A.  B.  Bruce,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 

THE  PARABLES  OF  OUR  LORD. 

By  the  Rev.  Marcus  Dods,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 

THE  SEVEN  WORDS  ON  THE  CROSS. 

By  the  Rev.  Alexander  Maclaren,  D.D,,  Manchester. 

THE  MIRACLES  OF  OUR  LORD. 

By  the  Rev.  Professor  Laidlaw,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 

THE  TEMPTATION  OF  CHRIST. 

By  the  Rev.  G.  S.  Barrett,  B.A.,  Norwich. 

THE  LORD'S  PRAYER. 

By  the  Rev.  Charles  Stanford,  D.D.,  London. 

ECCLESIASTES. 

By  the  Rev.  Joseph  Parker,  D.D,,  London. 


The  following  Authors  are  also  expected  to  contribute 
to  the  Series. 

The  Rev.  HENRY  ALLON,  D.D.,  London. 

The  Rev.  J.  OSWALD  DYKES,  D.D.,  London. 

The  Rev.  DONALD  ERASER,  D.D.,  London. 

The  Rev.  Professor  GRAHAM,  D.D.,  London. 

The  Rev.  J.  GUINESS  ROGERS,  B.A.,  London. 

The  Rev.  ADOLPH  SAPHIR,  D.D.,  London. 

The  Rev.  W.  FLEMING  STEVENSON,  D.D.,*Dublin. 


EDINBURGH : 
MACNIVEN  &  WALLACE,  132   PRINCES;  STREET. 


^bc  1bou0eboK>  Xibrar?  of  lEyposition, 


THE  SPEECHES  OF  THE  HOLY 
APOSTLES. 


THE     SPEECHES 


OF  THE 


HOLY    APOSTLES. 


DONALD   ERASER,  D.D. 


NEW    YORK:    MACMILLAN   &   CO. 
1882. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  PAGE 

INTRODUCTION  .  ...  I 

I.  ST   PETER  TO   THE   BRETHREN   AT' JERU- 

SALEM    7 

II.  ST    PETER   TO  THE   MULTITUDE   ON    THE 

DAY  OF  PENTECOST      ....  20 

III.  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE  IN  SOLOMON^S 

PORCH 41 

IV.  ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM  .  .  59 

V.      ST    PETER    AT    CiESAREA   TO   A   GENTILE 

COMPANY 74 

VI.      ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS  AT 

JERUSALEM .95 

VII.      ST  PAUL  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH  IN  THE 

SYNAGOGUE II 3 

VMI.      ST    PETER   AND    ST   JAMES   TO   THE   AS- 
SEMBLY AT  JERUSALEM        .  .  .  129 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAP.  )'AGE 

IX.  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS       .  .  1 49 

X.  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS  AT  MILETUS  1 67 

XI.  ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM     .  1 86 

XII.  ST  PAUL  AT  CiESAREA  TO  FELIX  .  .  202 

XIIL  ST  PAUL  AT  C^ESAREA  TO  AGRIPPA     .  220 

XIV.  ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME         .  .  .  239 

CONCLUSION        .  ....  256 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  book  entitled  "Acts  of  the  Apostles  " 
reports  words  as  well  as  deeds.  Indeed, 
the  words  of  the  Apostles  were  acts  of  brave 
testimony  that  the  Church  must  ever  hold  in 
grateful  remembrance.  Words  !  only  words  ! 
yet  they  shook  the  world.  The  sword  in  the 
hand  has  never  gained  such  victories  as  the 
sword  of  the  mouth.  It  was  the  only  sword 
ever  employed  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He 
bore  witness  to  the  truth.  He  spoke  words 
instinct  with  spirit  and  life.  Simon  Peter, 
indeed,  seemed  to  attach  some  importance  to 
"  two  swords "  on  the  night  of  his  Master's 
arrest,  and  actually  drew  one  of  them  to  defend 
Jesus.  But  the  Lord  calmly  said — **  Put  up 
again  thy  sword  into  its  place ;  "  and  never 
more  do  we  hear  of  that  Apostle  touching 
"  carnal  weapons."  He  had  what  was  far 
better — a  tongue  set  of  fire  from  heaven. 

Our   holy  religion    now  rests    on    the  word 
A 


2  INTRODUCTION. 

written,  but  it  was  with  the  word  spoken,  viva 
voce,  that  it  began.  The  house  of  Israel  was 
moulded  by  what  Moses  and  the  prophets 
"  spake  "  anterior  to  any  record  of  their  words 
in  Books  of  the  Old  Testament ;  and  in  like 
manner  the  Church  was  founded  and  guided 
by  word  of  mouth  from  Jesus  and  the  Apostles 
many  years  before  any  book  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment was  composed. 

To  St  Luke  we  are  indebted  for  a  report  of 
oral  addresses  delivered  by  Apostolic  lips  on 
critical  occasions.  No  doubt  they  are  in  most, 
if  not  in  all,  cases  given  in  an  abridged  form, 
not  in  extenso;  but  the  question  is  raised 
whether,  even  as  abridgements,  they  are  to  be 
held  authentic  and  read  as  representing  speeches 
which  were  actually  made.  A  startling  and 
even  shocking  question  to  those  who  have  never 
admitted  into  their  minds  the  idea  that  the 
sacred  books  could  be  influenced,  so  far  as  the 
human  composition  of  them  is  concerned,  by  the 
literary  fashions  of  the  times  in  which  they  were 
written.  But  intelligent  readers  who  can  dis- 
tinguish  between  Divine  inspiration  and  literary 
construction,  know  that  every  ancient  as  well  as 
every  modern  book  bears  some  stamp  of  its  own 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

literary  period ;  and,  therefore,  that  it  is  a  per- 
fectly reasonable  question,  whether  St  Luke  con- 
formed to  the  fashion  of  the  ancient  historians 
in  writing  out  speeches  for  the  chief  personages 
in  his  history.  From  Thucydides  downwards 
the  Greek  and  Latin  annalists  and  historians 
freely  drew  on  their  rhetorical  imagination,  and 
put  characteristic  speeches  as  they  thought 
proper  into  the  mouths  of  eminent  men.  Must 
we  think  that  St  Luke  adorned  his  treatise  in  the 
same  manner  ?  or  may  we  rely  on  his  having 
abstained  from  rhetorical  invention,  and  having 
taken  pains  to  ascertain  and  record  exactly 
what  the  Apostle  spoke  } 

Our  persuasion  is  that  we  may  so  rely  on  the 
authenticity  of  the  speeches  in  the  Book  of 
Acts.  We  think  so  mainly  for  the  following 
reason : — St  Luke  had  already  written  for  Theo- 
philus  a  memoir  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  therein 
had  reported  many  of  the  Saviour's  words,  and 
even  discourses  of  considerable  length.  It  is 
impossible  to  imagine  that  the  EvangeHst  com- 
posed those  sayings  and  ascribed  them  to  Jesus. 
He  could  not  have  composed  them  if  he  had 
tried,  for  they  were  such  words  *'  as  never  man 
spake."     He  would  not  have  composed  them  if 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

he  could  ;  he  had  too  much  reverence  to  devise 
utterances  for  the  Son  of  God.  We  feel  quite 
sure  that  the  words  and  discourses  attributed  to 
our  Lord  in  the  third  gospel  are  honestly  re- 
ported from  the  best  sources  of  information  open 
to  the  Evangelist — the  memory,  perhaps  the 
written  memoranda,  of  those  who  heard  the 
Saviour  speak.  This  habit  of  reporting  speeches 
was  therefore  formed  by  St  Luke  in  composing 
his  first  treatise  ;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  he  carried  it  into  his  second  treatise  also. 
It  was  constructed  throughout  in  the  same  spirit 
of  literary  conscientiousness  and  reverence.  The 
earlier  speeches  which  are  given — those  of  St 
Peter  and  St  Stephen — could  be  recovered  from 
those  who  heard  them,  and  who  probably  wrote 
them  down  at  the  time  of  their  delivery.  That 
of  Stephen  St  Paul  heard  and  never  forgot. 
Then  the  later  speeches  in  the  book — those  of 
St  Paul  himself — the  historian  could,  without 
much  difficulty,  obtain  in  an  authentic  form,  for 
he  was  much  with  the  Apostle  as  an  intimate 
and  trusted  friend. 

In  some  instances  the  report  is  confessedly 
incomplete ;  as  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when 
St   Peter's   address   is   given   up   to   a   certain 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

point,  and  then  wc  are  simply  told  that  "  with 
many  other  words  he  testified  and  exhorted 
them."  In  other  cases  the  speech  ends  ab- 
ruptly, being  cut  short  by  the  arrest  of  the 
speaker  or  a  tumult  in  the  audience.  Take,  as 
examples,  St  Peter's  address  in  Solomon's 
Porch,  and  that  of  St  Paul  on  the  stairs  above 
the  Court  of  the  Temple.  When  the  speaker 
was  heard  without  interruption  the  length  of 
the  address  was  determined  by  the  occasion. 
Speeches  in  self-defence  were  judiciously  short. 
Discourses  of  an  expository  and  didactic  char- 
acter were  judiciously  long.  The  greatness  of 
the  theme  deserved,  and  the  large  scope  of  the 
argument  drawn  by  the  Apostles  from  ancient 
Scripture  required,  that  time  should  not  be 
grudged.  So  St  Paul  continued  his  speech  at 
Troas  until  midnight,  and  held  the  attention  of 
the  Jews  at  Rome  "  from  morning  till  evening." 
The  tone  of  all  the  speeches  combines  fear- 
lessness and  reverence.  Fearlessness  became 
the  speakers  as  champions  of  a  world-subduing 
faith.  Reverence  became  them  as  messengers 
charged  with  a  heavenly  communication  to 
mankind,  and  guided  by  the  same  Spirit  that 
moved    the     ancient     prophets.      They    were 


6  INTRODUCTION. 

*' serious  in  a  serious  cause."  To  rhetorical 
skill  or  finish  the  speeches  make  no  claim,  yet 
they  are  never  unskilful  or  awkward.  As  ex- 
temporaneous addresses  delivered  by  Jews  and 
Galileans  they  do  not  offer  themselves  for  com- 
parison with  the  carefully  constructed  orations 
of  the  Greek  and  Roman  masters  of  eloquence  ; 
yet  some  of  them,  e.g.,  St  Paul's  address  at 
Athens,  and  his  speech  before  Agrippa,  tried 
by  any  just  standard  of  criticism,  will  be  pro- 
nounced oratorical  masterpieces. 

The  Apostles,  indeed,  had  a  transcendant 
qualification,  and  one  that  never  failed  in  an 
emergency.  A  heavenly  wisdom  ordered  their 
thoughts  and  arranged  their  words.  A  heavenly 
fire,  kindling  their  intellect  and  heart,  glowed 
upon  their  lips.  It  was  not  so  much  they  who 
spoke,  as  the  Holy  Ghost. 


I. 

ST  PETER  TO  THE  BRETHREN  AT  JERUSALEM. 

**  And  in  these  days  Peter  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  the  brethren, 
and  said   (and   there  was  a  multitude  of  persons  gathered  to- 
gether, about  a  hundred  and  twenty).  Brethren,  it  was  needful 
that  the  scripture  should   be  fulfilled,  which  the  Holy   Ghost 
spake  before  by  the  mouth  of  David  concerning  Judas,  who  was 
guide  to  them  that  took  Jesus.     For  he  was  numbered  among 
us,  and  received  his  portion  in  this  ministry.     (Now  this  man 
obtained   a  field  with  the  reward  of  his  iniquity ;  and  falling 
headlong,   he  burst  asunder  in  the  midst,  and  all  his  bowels 
giished  out.     And  it  became  known  to  all  the  dwellers  at  Jeru- 
salem ;  insomuch  that  in  their  language  that  field  was  called 
Akeldama,  that  is,  The  field  of  blood.)     For  it  is  written  in 
the  book  of  Psalms,  Let  his  habitation  be  made  desolate,  and 
let  no  man  dwell  therein  ;  and  His  office  let  another  take.     Of 
the  men  therefore  which  have  companied  with  us  all  the  time 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  went  in  and  went  out  among  us,  beginning 
from  the  baptism  of  John,  unto  the  day  that  he  was  received  up 
from  us,   of  these  must  one  become  a  witness  with  us  of  his 
resurrection." — Acts  i.  15-22. 

THE  place  was  an  upper  chamber  in  Jeru- 
salem. The  time  fell  in  the  interval  be- 
tween the  ascension  of  Christ  and  the  descent 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  audience  consisted  of 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty,  who  acknow- 


8  ST  PETER  TO  THE  BRETHREN 

ledged  Jesus  as  the  Christ.  Devout  women, 
including  the  Blessed  Mother  of  our  Lord,  may 
also  have  been  present ;  but,  if  so,  according  to 
Eastern  custom,  they  were  not  counted.  This 
audience  was  in  a  high  condition  of  spiritual 
receptivity,  having  been  for  several  days  occu- 
pied in  united  prayer,  waiting  for  that  power 
from  on  high  which  their  Master  had  promised. 
The  speaker  was  Simon  Peter,  the  leading 
spirit  among  the  apostles,  to  whom  all  were 
ready  to  concede  the  right  of  initiation,  though 
no  one  ascribed  to  him, — nor  did  he  ever  claim, 
— a  right  of  supremacy. 

Cut  off  by  their  faith  in  the  Crucified  One 
from  the  confidence  and  sympathy  of  the 
general  population,  those  disciples  drew  the 
closer  to  one  another  in  brotherly  love.  They 
are  described  as  "the  brethren,"  and  the  apostle 
addressed  them  by  that  name — no  mere  formal 
phrase  at  such  a  time,  but  one  that  meant  much, 
and  touched  a  chord  of  feeling  in  every  heart. 

Then  the  speaker  plunged  at  once  into  his 
theme,  dwelt  on  the  sad  death  of  Judas,  the 
traitor,  and  developed  a  proposal  which  the 
occasion  seemed  to  him  to  justify  and  require. 
In  this,  however,  he  showed  no  peremptoriness, 


AT  JERUSALEM.  9 

but  laid  before  the  brethren  the  grounds  on 
which  his  proposal  rested,  and  asked  for  their 
concurrence. 

The  number  of  the  apostles  had  been  twelve, 
evidently  to  correspond  with  the  number  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel.  The  Lord  Jesus  had  spoken 
of  them  as  destined  to  sit  on  twelve  thrones, 
judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  St  Peter 
pointed  to  the  fact  that  this  number  of  com- 
pleteness was  now  broken  by  the  fall  of  Judas  ; 
and  yet  he  thought  not  so  much  of  the  vacant 
throne  as  of  the  deficient  witness.  He  had  well 
learned  the  last  lesson  which  the  Master  had 
impressed  on  the  disciples  before  his  ascension, 
that  the  power  about  to  come  upon  them  was 
not  to  lift  them  up  at  once  into  places  of  dignity 
in  a  kingdom  restored  to  Israel,  but  to  fit  them 
for  bearing  witness  to  Him  "  in  Jerusalem,  and 
in  all  Judea  and  Samaria,  and  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth."  No  longer  insisting  on  his 
own  preconceptions,  as  in  former  days,  St  Peter 
meekly  followed  the  indication  of  his  Lord's 
will ;  and,  therefore,  it  was  to  the  necessity,  not 
so  much  of  filling  the  twelfth  throne  in  the 
future  kingdom,  as  of  completing  the  band  of 
apostolic  witnesses  for  immediate  service,  that 


lO  ST  PETER  TO  THE  BRETHREN 

he    called     the    attention    of    the    assembled 
brethren. 

The  speech  was  confined  to  the  one  point, 
and  was,  therefore,  brief  and  practical.  Indeed, 
it  was  even  more  brief  than  the  ordinary  Eng- 

^lish  bible  indicates,  if  we  take  the  details  of  the 
suicide  of  Judas,  in  the  i8th  and  19th  verses, 
to  be  no  part  of  the  speech,  but  a  parenthetic 
explanation  inserted  by  the  historian  St  Luke. 
The  Revised  Version  adopts  this  view,  and  has 
enclosed  those  verses  within  marks  of  paren- 
thesis. In  this  the  revisers  have  perhaps  ex- 
ceeded their  proper  function  as  translators,  but 
we  incline  to  think  that  they  are  right.  It  does 
not  seem  at  all  natural  for  one  speaking  in  the 
city  of  Jerusalem  to  tell  how  Judas  bought  a 
field  and  how  he  died — matters  which  must 
have  been  perfectly  well  known  to  his  audi- 
ence ;  to  talk  of  "the  dwellers  at  Jerusalem  "  as 
if  he  were  a  hundred  miles  away ;  and  to 
translate  the  word  aceldama  to  hearers  who 
must  have  understood  it  as  well  as  himself 
But  it  was  quite  natural  and  very  proper  for 
St  Luke  to  furnish  such  explanations   to   his 

\  friend  Theophilus. 

Let  us  set  down  in  order  what  we  find  most 


AT  JERUSALEM.  1 1 

worthy  of  consideration  in  the  first  apostolic 
speech. 

I .  The  becoming  spirit  in  wJiich  the  traitor  is 
referred  to. — There  is  no  breath  of  angry  pas- 
sion, no  excited  protestation  of  horror  at  his 
crime,  or  of  exultation  over  his  dreadful  end, 
no  confident  placing  of  Judas  with  Lucifer  in 
lowest  hell.  Simon  Peter  remembered  that  he 
had  himself  played  an  unworthy  part  on  the 
night  of  his  Master's  arrest  and  trial ;  and 
though  his  fault  had  been  a  denial  through 
weakness — not  a  crime  of  deliberate  betrayal 
for  the  sake  of  a  contemptible  bribe,  as  was 
the  case  with  Judas, — yet  the  apostle  was  so 
far  admonished  and  subdued  by  the  recollec- 
tion of  his  own  misconduct,  and  of  the  flight 
of  his  colleagues,  as  to  put  away  all  harshness 
in  speaking  even  of  the  miserable  traitor.  "  He 
was  guide  to  them  that  took  Jesus."  "  He  was 
numbered  among  us,  and  received  his  portion 
{KXrjpog,  lot)  in  this  ministry."  This  lot  he  for- 
feited for  filthy  lucre's  sake.  "  He  fell  away 
that  he  might  go  to  his  own  place." 

Enough.  The  case  was  too  grievous  and 
tragical  for  many  words.  He  is  not  the  wisest 
or  the  best  man  who  hurls  the  hardest  words 


12  ST  PETER  TO  THE  BRETHREN 

at  sinners;  and  he  is  not  the  most  judicious 
servant  of  Christ  who  metes  out  to  his  fallen 
fellow-servant  the  most  rigorous  condemnation. 
St  Peter  in  no  wise  palliated  the  crime  of  Judas. 
He  knew  that  it  would  have  been  better  for 
that  man  to  have  never  been  born.  But  he 
cast  no  execration  on  his  memory,  as  the  Jews 
have  thrown  stones  with  curses  on  the  grave  of 
Absalom,  the  ungrateful  assailant  of  Christ's 
great  ancestor.  Judas  had  gone  to  his  own 
place,  said  the  apostle,  with  a  sigh  rather  than 
a  frown.  It  was  the  Lord  alone  who  could 
judge  him,  and  ought  to  judge  him.  What 
need  that  men  should  add  their  many  stripes 
of  censure,  or  cast  their  stones  of  angry  in- 
crimination! 

2.  The  manner  of  accoiintiiig  for  events  con- 
nected with  the  death  of  Christ.—St  Peter  had 
learned  this  from  the  Lord  himself.  Both  be- 
fore His  betrayal  and  after  His  resurrection, 
Jesus  had  impressed  on  the  disciples  His  ob- 
ligation to  suffer  at  Jerusalem,  on  the  ground 
that  He  must  accomplish  the  Divine  counsel 
of  redemption,  and  fulfil  the  intimations  of 
ancient  scripture  regarding  the  Messiah,  His 
sorrow  and    His   victory.      The   apostle  Peter 


AT  JERUSALEM.  I  3 

at  one  time  could  not  admit  this  into  his  mind, 
and  tried  to  dissuade  the  Master  from  going  up 
to  Jerusalem  to  finish  His  course.  But  now  he 
saw  the  whole  matter  from  the  Lord's  point  of 
view,  and  in  the  same  light  looked  at  the 
treason  of  Judas  as  a  link  in  the  chain  of 
events  which  fulfilled  the  high  purpose  of 
God.  This  consideration  did  not  palliate  the 
traitor's  guilt  any  more  than  it  excused  the 
chief  priests  who  bribed  the  infatuated  man  ; 
but  it  accounted  to  the  christian  company  for 
such  a  crime  being  permitted  to  occur,  and  to 
succeed  in  its  object. 

In  the  first  sentence  of  the  speech  David  is 
mentioned  as  the  prophet  by  whose  mouth  the 
Holy  Ghost  had  spoken  from  ancient  days 
"  concerning  Judas.''  Quotations  are  then 
given  from  the  book  of  Psalms;  the  servant 
following  herein  the  example  of  the  Master, 
who  cited  the  41st  Psalm  on  the  night  in 
which  he  was  betrayed,  in  allusion  to  the  in- 
gratitude and  treachery  of  Judas  Iscariot.*  In 
the  sorrow  of  King  David  was  shadowed  forth 

*  See  John  xiii.  18.  Mark  the  significant  omission  of  the 
words  "whom  I  trusted,"  which  are  found  in  the  original 
passage,  Ps.  xli.  9. 


14  ST  PETER  TO  THE  BRETHREN 

the  deeper  sorrow  of  Christ ;  and  in  the  treason 
of  Ahithophel  and  his  despairing  death  were 
shadowed  forth  the  treason  and  despairing 
death  of  the  Fallen  Apostle.  Guided  by  this, 
St  Peter  quoted  two  other  Psalms  of  the  same 
cast  with  the  41st.  They  are  the  69th  and 
109th.  From  the  former,  he  inferred  the  utter 
rejection  of  Judas.  From  the  latter,  he  argued 
that  the  charge  committed  to  Judas  as  one  of 
the  twelve  should  now  be  transferred  to  another. 
Our  minds  may  perceive  little  need  for  quota- 
tions and  arguments  from  prophetic  odes  in  such 
a  matter.  The  proposal  to  fill  up  a  vacant 
place  may  seem  to  us  to  have  quite  sufficient 
support  in  considerations  of  practical  expedi- 
ency. But  we  must  judge  the  speech  by  the 
position  of  the  speaker  and  his  audience.  They 
were  at  a  juncture  which  made  every  indication 
of  their  duty  from  ancient  Scripture  most  im- 
portant and  precious.  Knowing  that  their  Lord 
had  at  all  hazards  fulfilled  the  Scriptures,  and 
realising  their  close  relation  to  Him,  they  were 
bound  to  be  careful  that  they  too,  in  continuing 
the  witness  to  Him  on  the  earth,  fulfilled  the 
Scriptures.  They  also  must  have  foreseen  that 
they   would    be    stigmatised   as   sectaries   and 


AT  JERUSALEM.  I  5 

renegades  by  the  Jewish  authorities  ;  and  there- 
fore they  were  bound  to  make  it  sure  that  they 
were  not  departing  from  those  sacred  oracles 
which  were  the  glory  of  their  nation,  but  were 
obeying,  according  to  those  oracles,  the  will  of 
the  God  of  Israel. 

3.  The  view  Jure  given  of  the  qualifications  of 
an  Apostle. — He  must  have  been  of  the  company 
who  followed  Jesus,  and  must  have  seen  Him 
after  He  had  risen,  so  as  to  testify  to  the  truth 
of  His  resurrection.  These  conditions  surely 
preclude  any  continuance  of  the  apostolic  office 
beyond  the  first  century,  and  any  restoration  of 
the  Apostolate  in  modern  times.  In  a  secondary 
sense  it  is  fair  enough  to  speak  of  Patrick  as  the 
apostle  of  Ireland,  Boniface  as  the  apostle  of 
Germany,  Ansgar  as  the  apostle  of  Scandinavia; 
but  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term  there  are  no 
successors  of  the  original  apostles.  They  were  a 
band  of  witnesses  on  whose  well  accredited  per- 
sonal testimony  to  Jesus  Christ  the  Church  was 
built :  as  is  indicated  in  the  vision  of  the  Holy 
City — "  The  wall  of  the  city  had  twelve  founda- 
tions, and,  on  them,  twelve  names  of  the  twelve 
Apostles  of  the  Lamb."  * 

*  Rev.  xxi.  14. 


lb  ST  PETER  TO  THE  BRETPIREN 

Paul  of  Tarsus  was  subsequently  made  an 
apostle.  He  had  not  been  of  the  company  with 
Jesus  in  Galilee  and  Judea,  but  he  saw  the 
ascended  Lord  that  he  might  witness,  not  on 
hearsay,  but  on  personal  knowledge,  to  the  fact 
of  His  having  risen  from  the  dead.  Some, 
indeed,  have  maintained  that  St  Peter  and  the 
other  apostles,  with  the  hundred  and  twenty 
brethren,  all  mistook  the  path  of  duty  on  this 
occasion,  and  improperly  raised  Matthias  to  the 
apostolate.  It  is  alleged  that  their  conduct  was 
precipitate,  and  that  if  they  had  patiently  waited, 
they  would  have  discovered  that  the  Lord 
intended  the  twelfth  place  to  be  occupied  by 
Paul.  In  support  of  this,  it  is  pointed  out  that 
there  is  no  record  of  any  apostolic  work  done 
by  Matthias,  whereas  Paul  showed  all  the  signs 
of  a  great  apostle. 

With  this  view  we  have  no  sympathy,  and 
cannot  admit  that  it  has  any  ground  of  proba- 
bility in  its  favour.  It  seems  to  us  almost  a 
preposterous  suggestion  that  the  very  first  act 
of  the  Christians  at  Jerusalem,  and  that  a  unani- 
mous act,  determined  on  after  much  prayer  and 
searching  of  the  Scriptures,  was  a  presumptuous 
mistake.    This  is  unlikely,  and  almost  incredible 


AT  JERUSALEM.  I  7 

ill  itself ;  and  happily  there  is  not  the  slightest 
hint  in  the  New  Testament  that  any  such  error 
was'committed.  Then  it  is  most  unreasonable 
to  base  any  argument  on  the  non-mention  of 
the  acts  of  Matthias  in  St  Luke's  history ;  for 
in  that  respect  he  is  in  the  same  position  with 
Andrew,  Philip,  Thomas,  Bartholomew,  Matthew, 
and  Simon  ■^the  zealot — six  undoubted  apostles, 
of  whose  acts  the  New  Testament  affords  no 
record.  What  then  was  the  position  of  St 
Paul  ?  •  In  nothing  was  he  *'  behind  the  very 
chiefest  apostles ; "  but  he  was  not  one  of  the 
twelve  apostles  of  the  circumcision,  who  are  to 
judge  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  His  was  a 
separate  appointment  as  apostle  to  the  Gen- 
tiles ;  and  in  that  capacity  he  accomplished  his 
work,  and  will  enter  into  his  reward. 

After  each  of  the  apostolic  speeches,  St  Luke 
tells  us  something  of  the  effect  produced  on  the 
audience.  In  the  present  case  prompt  action 
was  taken  in  accordance  with  St  Peter's  advice. 
Two  brethren,  who  possessed  the  necessaiy 
qualifications,  were  put  forward  ;  but  no  vote 
was  taken  in  the  assembly,  as  between  two 
candidates.      The  decision  was   taken   by  lot, 


15  ST  PETER  TO  THE  BRETHREN 

according  to  an  Old  Testament  method  of 
appeal  to  Jehovah.  This  has  been  accounted 
for  on  the  supposition  that  the  meeting  was  in 
much  doubt  as  to  which  of  these  honoured 
brethren  ought  to  be  preferred  ;  but  we  would 
rather  trace  it  to  a  conviction  in  the  minds  of 
all  who  were  present,  that  an  apostle  required 
to  be  designated  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Himself 
Apostolate  could  not  be  conferred  by  the 
Church  on  whomsoever  it  pleased,  as  could  the 
permanent  offices  afterwards  instituted,  viz.,  the 
Presbyter-Episcopate  and  the  Diaconate.  There 
was  no  scruple  about  "  looking  out "  and  ordain- 
ing deacons,  or  choosing  and  ordaining  elders  ; 
but  the  twelfth  apostle  could  be  chosen  and 
appointed  only  by  the  Lord,  who  had  chosen 
and  appointed  the  other  eleven.  The  expres- 
sion "  be  ordained "  in  the  Authorised  Version 
(verse  22)  is  quite  inaccurate.  All  that  the 
apostle  said  was  that  "  one  must  become  a  wit- 
ness "  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ.  Ordination 
to  the  apostolate  by  Church  authority  there 
could  not  be,  any  more  than  there  could  be 
ordination  to  the  function  of  a  prophet.  In 
accordance  with  this  principle,  we  afterwards 
find  St  Paul  solicitous  to  have  it  understood  in 
all  churches  that  he   had  received  grace   and 


AT  JERUSALEM.  J  9 

apostleship  not  from  men,  but  from  Jesus  Christ 
the  Lord.  He  begins  several  of  his  epistles  by 
describing  himself  as  "  an  apostle  of  Christ  Jesus 
through  the  will  of  God." 

Matthias,  then,  was  not  ordained,  but  simply 
"numbered  with  the  eleven  apostles,"  being 
recognised  from  that  day  forward  as  clothed 
with  the  same  authority  from  the  Lord  Jesus 
with  which  they  were  invested.  And  now  all 
things  were  ready.  The  twelve  living  stones 
were  laid  in  order  in  the  foundation  of  the 
Church — Peter,  the  Rock-man,  being  first  in  the 
rank :  and  the  time  was  at  hand  when  Christ 
should  build  thereon  that  Church  against  which 
the  gates  of  Hades  cannot  prevail.  The  twelve 
witnesses  of  His  resurrection  were  ready  to  open 
their  testimony  so  soon  as  they  should  receive 
the  promised  Power.  Till  the  descent  of  the 
Power  from  on  high,  there  was  no  more  speak- 
ing. It  was  a  time  to  pray  and  to  wait.  The 
initial  organisation  was  complete.  The  twelve 
apostles,  the  brethren,  and  the  devout  women 
were  together,  and  of  one  accord.  One  thing 
only  they  lacked.  But  it  was  everything  if 
they  hoped  to  succeed.  It  was  that  vitalising 
energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost  without  which  all 
ecclesiastical  organisation  is  weak  indeed. 


II. 


ST   PETER  TO   THE   MULTITUDE  ON   THE 
DAY  OF   PENTECOST. 

"But  Peter,  standing  up  with  the  eleven,  lifted  up  his  voice, 
and  spake  forth  unto  them,  saying,  Ye  men  of  Judaea,  and  all 
ye  that  dw^ell  at  Jerusalem,  be  this  known  unto  you,  and  give 
ear  unto  my  words.  For  these  are  not  drunken,  as  ye  suppose  ; 
seeing  it  is  but  the  third  hour  of  the  day ;  but  this  is  that  which 
hath  been  spoken  by  the  prophet  Joel :  And  it  shall  be  in  the 
last  days,  saith  God,  I  will  pour  forth  of  my  Spirit  upon  all 
flesh  :  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall  prophesy,  and 
your  young  men  shall  see  visions,  and  your  old  men  shall  dream 
dreams  :  Yea  and  on  my  servants  and  on  my  handmaidens  in 
those  days  will  I  pour  forth  of  my  Spirit;  and  they  shall  prophesy. 
And  I  will  shew  wonders  in  the  heaven  above,  and  signs  on  the 
earth  beneath  ;  blood,  and  fire,  and  vapour  of  smoke  :  the  sun 
shall  be  turned  into  darkness,  and  the  moon  into  blood,  before 
the  day  of  the  Lord  come,  that  great  and  notable  day :  And  it 
shall  be,  that  whosoever  shall  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall 
be  saved.  Ye  men  of  Israel,  hear  these  words  :  Jesus  of  Naza- 
reth, a  man  approved  of  God  unto  you  by  mighty  works  and 
wonders  and  signs,  which  God  did  by  him  in  the  midst  of  you, 
even  as  ye  yourselves  know  ;  him,  being  delivered  up  by  the  de- 
terminate counsel  and  foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  by  the  hand  of 
lawless  men  did  crucify  and  slay  :  whom  God  raised  up,  having 
loosed  the  pangs  of  death  :  because  it  was  not  possible  that  he 
should  be  holden  of  it.  For  David  saith  concerning  him,  *  I 
beheld  the  Lord  always  before  my  face  ;  for  he  is  on  my  right 
hand,  that  I  should  not  be  moved  :   Therefore  my  heart  was 


ST  PETER  ON  THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.       2  I 

glad,  and  my  tongue  rejoiced ;  moreover  my  flesh  also  shall 
dwell  in  hope :  because  thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  Hades, 
neither  wilt  thou  give  thy  Holy  One  to  see  corruption.  Thou 
madest  known  unto  me  the  ways  of  life ;  thou  shalt  make  me 
full  of  gladness  with  thy  countenance.'  Brethren,  I  may  say 
unto  you  freely  of  the  patriarch  David,  that  he  both  died  and  was 
buried,  and  his  tomb  is  with  us  unto  this  day.  Being  therefore 
a  prophet,  and  knowing  that  God  had  sworn  with  an  oath  to 
him,  that  of  the  fruit  of  his  loins  he  would  set  one  upon  his 
throne ;  he  foreseeing  this  spake  of  the  resurrection  of  the 
Christ,  that  neither  was  he  left  in  Hades,  nor  did  his  flesh  see 
corruption.  This  Jesus  did  God  raise  up,  whereof  we  all  are 
witnesses.  Being  therefore  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted, 
and  having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  he  hath  poured  forth  this,  which  ye  see  and  hear. 
For  David  ascended  not  into  the  heavens :  but  he  saith  himself. 
The  Lord  said  unto  my  Lord,  Sit  thou  on  my  right  hand,  till  I 
make  thine  enemies  the  footstool  of  thy  feet.  Let  all  the 
house  of  Israel  therefore  know  assuredly  that  God  hath  made 
him  both  Lord  and  Christ,  this  Jesus  whom  you  crucified. 
Now  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  pricked  in  their  heart, 
and  said  unto  Peter  and  the  rest  of  the  apostles.  Brethren,  what 
shall  we  do  ?  And  Peter  said  unto  them,  Repent  ye,  and  be 
baptised  every  one  of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  unto  the 
remission  of  your  sins  ;  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  For  to  you  is  the  promise,  and  to  your  children,  and  to 
all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call 
unto  him.  And  with  many  other  words  he  testified  and  ex- 
horted them,  saying,  Save  yourselves  from  this  crooked  genera- 
tion."—Acts  ii.  14-40. 


WE  are  struck  first  with  the  calmness,  then 
with  the  concentrated  force  of  this  ad- 
dress. How  difficult  the  task  which  St  Peter 
undertook !     He  had  to  speak  on  the  spur  of 


2  2  ST  PETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

the  moment,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  scene  of 
great  agitation;  for  the  little  band  of  Christians, 
a  hundred  and  twenty  in  number,  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  vast  throng  of  Jews  and  Prose- 
lytes, native  and  foreign,  excited  as  only  an 
Eastern  crowd  can  be.  The  sight  of  such  a 
surging  multitude,  with  their  loud  hum  of 
amazement,  not  unmingled  with  ominous  cries 
of  mockery,  might  well  have  daunted,  or  at 
least  disconcerted  the  Galilean  fisherman.  It 
is  no  easy  thing  for  the  most  practised  orator 
to  catch  the  ear,  and  hold  the  attention  of  a 
confused  crowd,  unfavourably  disposed  to  the 
cause  he  seeks  to  advocate.  Shakespeare 
means  us  to  recognise  consummate  skill  in  Mark 
Antony's  handling  of  the  Roman  citizens  at 
Caesar's  funeral ;  but  he  used  flattering  words, 
and  he  spoke  in  order  to  rouse  the  people 
against  the  assassins  of  Caesar,  not  against 
themselves.  The  speaker  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost had  to  address  the  crowd  at  Jerusalem  on 
a  theme  which  could  not  be  welcome  to  them, 
and  to  stir  their  consciences  to  self-condemna- 
tion. Yet  we  see  no  trace  of  hesitation,  no 
symptom  of  embarrassment.  The  speech  was 
as  well  conceived  and  compacted  as  if  it  had 


THE  DAY  OFU'ENTECOST.  23 

been  premeditated  for  weeks.  It  contrived  not 
to  irritate  but  to  arrest  and  pierce  the  soul.  It 
soothed  the  tumult  of  unfriendly  excitement, 
and  stirred  a  tumult  of  convicted  conscience. 

An  opening  for  the  apostolic  address  was 
made  by  the  rude  jeering  of  some  persons  in 
the  crowd  as  to  the  source  of  that  ardour  which 
glowed  in  the  faces  and  uttered  itself  in  the 
words  of  the  hundred  and  twenty  brethren. 
Probably  these  were  home  born  Jews,  who,  not 
recognising  the  languages  spoken  as  did  the 
foreign  Jews  and  Proselytes,  began  to  mock 
and  say,  "  These  men  are  full  of  new  wine." 
On  this,  Peter  stood  up  with  the  other  eleven 
apostles,  and  these  appear  to  have  continued 
standing  during  the  address  to  indicate  that 
what  their  leader  spoke  was  to  be  taken  as 
spoken  by  all.  It  was  the  speech  not  so  much 
of  one  apostle  as  of  the  twelve. 

The  charge  of  intoxication  was  easily  dis- 
posed of  It  was  a  fair  specimen  of  the  capa- 
city of  carnal  men  to  judge  those  who  are 
spiritual.  But  St  Peter  brushed  it  away  with  a 
sentence.  It  was  enough  to  point  out  that  it 
was  but  the  third  hour  of  the  day.  What  Jew 
would  have  drunk  wine  at  all  on  such  a  morning 


24  ST  PETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

as  the  Pentecost,  and  before  the  morning  sacri- 
fice had  been  offered  !  And  even  if  one  or  two 
could  have  been  found  so  lost  to  shame,  how 
absurd  to  allege  that  here  were  one  hundred 
and  twenty  of  such  shameless  persons,  all  care- 
fully gathered  together  in  a  group !  Even  the 
heathen  reckoned  it  disreputable  to  drink  strong 
wines  in  the  morning.  A  passage  in  Cicero  has 
been  pointed  out,  in  which  the  revelry  at  An- 
tony's villa  is  described  as  beginning  so  early 
as  nine  o'clock — ab  hora  tertia;  but  this  was  re- 
garded as  the  foolish  excess  of  debauchees. 

This  reference  to  the  hour  sufficed  to  show 
the  extreme  improbability  and  utter  unreason- 
ableness of  the  charge  of  intoxication  made  by 
the  mockers  in  the  crowd.  But  the  complete 
refutation  of  it  was  furnished  by  the  whole  tone 
and  tenor  of  St  Peter's  address,  which  was  calm 
and  well  considered  to  a  marvel.  It  showed 
that  he  and  his  companions  were  certainly  "  not 
filled  with  wine,  wherein  is  excess." 

They  were  "filled  with  the  Spirit."  The 
apostle  gave  this  as  the  true  explanation  of 
that  sudden  fervour,  and  proceeded  at  once  to 
illustrate  and  support  his  statement  by  a  felici- 
tous quotation  from  one  of  the  ancient  prophets. 


THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.  25 

He  knew  well  that  in  order  to  convince  either 
one  person  or  many  it  is  necessary  to  proceed 
on  some  common  ground,  and  the  common 
ground  for  his  purpose  was  Holy  Scripture. 
No  one  in  that  multitude,  however  prejudiced 
or  impatient,  could  object  to  the  citation  from 
Joel.  Every  one  felt  bound  to  listen  while  St 
Peter  quoted  from  memory  a  fine  passage  from 
that  venerable  prophet. 

It  predicted  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  at  some  future  date.  In  Joel  we  read 
"  afterwards."  St  Peter  quoted  it  thus,  "  In 
the  last  days,"  as  pointing  to  the  age  or  dis- 
pensation which  was  then  opening,  and  which  is 
to  close  with  the  second  advent  of  Christ.  The 
prophet  said  that  the  effusion  of  the  Spirit 
would  be  "upon  all  flesh."  Doubtless  he 
thought,  and  the  apostle  also  thought  of  all 
flesh  of  Israel — all  ages  and  both  sexes — sons 
and  daughters,  old  men  and  youths,  men- 
servants  and  maidens.  We  know  that  the 
Spirit  was  to  fall  on  the  Gentiles  also,  and 
Simon  Peter  soon  learned  this,  but  at  Caesarea, 
not  at  Jerusalem.  What  he  saw  and  taught  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost  was  the  beginning  of  a 
fulfilment  of  Joel's  prophecy  in  the  descent  of 


26  ST  PETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

the  Holy  Ghost  on  men  and  women  of  Israel. 
It  was  the  sign  of  a  new  era.  It  was  the  in- 
auguration of  a  time,  the  length  of  which  no 
man  could  define,  but  certainly  ending  with  a 
"  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord." 

Such  was  the  exordium  of  St  Peter's  speech. 
We  can  see  the  mockers  silenced,  some  of  them 
at  all  events,  let  us  hope,  ashamed.  We  can 
see  surprised  and  anxious  faces  turned  on  the 
band  of  apostles,  as  their  spokesman,  so  aptly 
quoting  Scripture,  announced  that  the  scene 
before  them  was  no  mere  casual  phenomenon, 
but  was  due  to  a  Divine  visitation  predicted  by 
one  of  the  earliest  prophets.  The  crowd  ceased 
to  sway  and  shout,  listening  to  the  calm,  clear, 
strong  statement  which  carried  with  it  such  a 
ring  of  certainty. 

Then  the  speaker,  pursuing  his  advantage, 
addressed  himself  to  the  theme  which  occupied 
his  own  heart  and  the  hearts  of  all  his  col- 
leagues. The  Spirit  had  come  upon  them,  not 
that  they  might  speak  of  Him,  but  that  they 
might  preach  Christ,  and  preach  with  power. 
Accordingly,  after  his  introductory  expla- 
nation to  avert  prejudice,  St  Peter  began  to 
speak  to  the  multitude   regarding  Jesus,   who 


THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.  2/ 

had  been  crucified  some  weeks  before,  at  the 
time  of  the  Passover.  He  declared  that  Jesus 
had  been  raised  from  the  dead  and  exalted  to 
heaven ;  and  sought  to  establish  by  quotations 
from  the  Holy  Writings  which  all  the  Jews  and 
Proselytes  professed  to  reverence,  that  this 
Jesus  was  both  Lord  and  Messiah.  It  was  a 
very  difficult  thing  to  do,  and  full  of  risk  to  the 
apostles  and  all  their  little  company ;  but  St 
Peter  accomplished  it  with  what  we  have 
already  described  as  a  combination  of  calm- 
ness and  force,  amply  proving  that  the  Spirit 
now  resting  on  him  and  his  brethren  was  no 
Pythonic  phrenzy,  but  the  "  Spirit  of  power 
and  love  and  a  sound  mind." 

In  the  speeches  of  the  apostles  we  shall  often 
find  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  manner  of 
their  Lord  in  this  respect,  that  they  never 
dragged  in  their  great  theme  abruptly  or  awk- 
wardly, but  introduced  it  with  a  happy  art, 
finding  their  starting-point  in  some  saying 
addressed  to  them,  or  some  quotation  from  the 
Old  Testament  which  they  had  made.  Thus, 
in  the  present  instance,  St  Peter  found  a  start- 
ing-point for  preaching  Jesus  in  the  concluding 
words  of  the  passage  he  had  cited   from  Joel, 


28         ST  PETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

"Whosoever  should  call  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord  shall  be  saved."  Who  was  the  Lord, 
whose  "great  and  notable  day"  should  termi- 
nate the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  ?  St  Peter 
and  his  colleagues  were  prepared  to  say  and 
prove  that  it  was  no  other  than  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  who  had  so  recently  been  rejected 
and  crucified.  And  then  for  the  first  time  the 
flagrancy  of  their  treatment  of  Jesus  was 
charged  on  the  conscience  of  the  Jewish  people ; 
while,  for  the  first  time  also,  the  fulness  of  the 
Gospel  was  made  known  to  them  as  a  procla- 
mation of  the  Saviour  in  His  humiliation  and 
exaltation,  and  an  assurance  of  salvation 
through  faith  in  His  name. 

Alike  in  manner  and  matter,  the  speech  was 
admirable.  There  was  consummate  tact  in 
advancing  under  the  shelter  of  quotations  from 
the  Old  Testament,  which  the  audience  was 
bound  to  receive  with  deference,  and  then  leap- 
ing out,  as  from  under  cover,  at  the  right 
moment,  with  bold  unsparing  language  that 
cut  their  consciences  like  a  sword.  And  all 
the  while,  as  to  the  substance  of  the  address, 
the  speaker  turned  neither  to  the  right  hand 
nor  to  the  left,  lingered  over  no  side  issues  or 


THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.  29 

subsidiary  points,  but  bent  all  his  energy  on  the 
establishment  by  infallible  proofs  of  his  one 
main  proposition,  that  Jesus  was  Lord  and 
Christ. 

All  who  were  present  had  heard  of  this  Jesus. 
Most,  if  not  all,  of  them  had  seen  Him.  Not  a 
few  of  them  had  joined  in  the  cry,  "  Crucify 
Him !  '*  That  passionate  demand  for  His 
death  had  not  been,  however,  a  really  sponta- 
neous cry  of  the  people.  It  had  been  stirred 
up  by  the  ruling  classes  to  glut  their  malice. 
And  now  that  a  little  time  had  passed,  and  hot 
blood  had  been  allowed  to  cool,  there  must 
have  been  sore  misgivings  in  the  hearts  of  many 
of  the  citizens,  as  well  as  of  the  visitors  to 
Jerusalem,  regarding  the  justice  of  that  hasty 
crucifixion  of  the  Prophet  from  Galilee.  The 
apostle  soon  dispersed  those  misgivings.  He 
reminded  his  hearers  of  "  the  mighty  works 
and  wonders  and  signs "  by  which  God  had 
accredited  His  Prophet.  He  appealed  to  the 
multitude  as  to  their  own  knowledge  of  those 
things  ;  and  their  silence  intimated  that  they 
could  not  and  did  not  dispute  the  fact  that 
many  signs  of  a  great  Prophet  of  God  had 
appeared  in  Jesus. 


30         ST  PETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

Having  gained  the  point,  St  Peter  proceeded 
to  show  who  the  Prophet  Jesus  was,  by  refer- 
ence to  His  (i)  death,  (2)  resurrection,  and  (3) 
ascension.     He  was  the  Christ. 

I.  The  Crucifixion  of  the  Prophet  was  fresh 
in  every  memory.  Was  this  fatal  to  a  claim  of 
Messiahship  .?  The  time  had  been  when  Simon 
Peter  would  himself  have  said  so  ;  but  now  he 
saw  otherwise,  and  stood  there  prepared  to 
show  that  the  condemnation  of  Jesus  to  igno- 
minious death,  far  from  telling  adversely,  formed 
an  essential  part  of  the  proof  that  He  was 
indeed  the  Christ.  It  was  in  God's  purpose 
that  the  Christ  should  "  suffer  many  things,  and 
be  killed,"  and  it  was  predicted  in  the  ancient 
oracles.  Jewish  teachers  had  turned  away 
their  eyes  from  every  indication  of  a  suffering 
Messiah,  and  Igoked  only  on  the  intimations  of 
His  power  and  glory.  But  none  the  less  were 
those  intimations  contained  in  the  Book  of 
God,  none  the  less  was  their  fulfilment  secured 
by  His  "  determinate  counsel."  Therefore  was 
Jesus  delivered  into  the  hands  of  those  who 
hated  Him  ;  and  they,  pursuing  their  own  en- 
vious and  cruel  purpose,  crucified  Him  by  the 
hand  of  "  men  without  the  law  " — the  heathen 


THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.  3  I 

Roman  soldiers.  But  it  was  really  on  the  Jews 
and  their  children  that  the  blood  of  the  Just  One 
lay.  St  Peter  regarded  the  multitude  before 
him  as  all  accessory  to  the  great  crime,  and 
had  the  courage  to  say,  face  to  face  with  the 
crowd,  "  Ye  did  crucify  and  slay." 

2.  Then,  in  a  breath,  holding  his  audience 
still  and  subdued  under  the  power  of  his  words, 
the  speaker  announced  a  fact  which  gave  a  new 
turn  to  the  whole  history  in  the  Resurrection  of 
the  Crucified  One.  "  Whom  God  raised  up, 
having  loosed  the  pangs  of  death."  This,  in- 
deed, had  been  announced  in  Jerusalem  imme- 
diately after  the  Sabbath  of  the  Passover ;  but 
a  counter  story  had  been  set  afloat  by  the  rulers 
to  the  effect  that  the  disciples  of  Jesus  had 
secretly  abstracted  His  body  from  the  tomb. 
These  conflicting  rumours  had  left  "the  whole 
matter  in  a  haze  of  doubt.  And  now,  for  the 
first  time,  the  assertion  that  God  had  raised  up 
Jesus  was  made  plainly  and  publicly  in  the 
hearing  of  thousands  of  Jews. 

But,  before  adducing  witnesses  to  prove  the 
resurrection,  St  Peter  referred  again  to  the  Old 
Testament.  With  a  fine  skill  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  had  taught  him,  he  prepared  the  Jews  for 


32  ST  PETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

receiving  evidence  in  support  of  the  fact,  by 
showing  that  it  was  an  event  far  from  incredible, 
since  it  had  been  clearly  foretold  in  one  of  the 
prophetic  Psalms.  He  quoted  the  i6th  Psalm, 
as  previously  he  had  quoted  Joel,  from  the 
Greek  version,  and  pointed  out  that  David  had 
spoken  of  one  who  should  emerge  from  Hades, 
and  that,  too,  so  soon  after  death,  that  his  flesh 
had  seen  or  suffered  no  corruption.  This  could 
not  refer  to  King  David  himself,  for  he  was  dead 
and  buried,  and  there  at  Jerusalem  was  his  un- 
disturbed^sepulchre.  The  apostle  maintained 
that  the  Psalm  referred  to  the  Christ,  and  meant 
that  He,  having  died  and  been  buried,  should, 
through  resurrection,  find  for  Himself,  and  open 
to  others,  the  path  of  life. 

Of  course  this  did  not  prove  that  Jesus  was 
that  Christ.  But,  if  it  could  be  proved  that 
Jesus  had  risen  soon  after  His  death  and  burial, 
His  fulfilment  of  this  oracle  would  go  far  to 
place  it  beyond  doubt  that  He  was  the  very 
Messiah,  the  hope  of  Israel. 

And  then  the  proof  was  adduced.  Pointing 
to  the  apostles  who  stood  beside  him,  and  per- 
haps to  the  rest  of  the  Christian  company  also, 
St  Peter  said  boldly  and  decisively,  "  This  Jesus 


THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.  33 

did  God  raise  up,  whereof  we  all  are  witnesses.'' 
They  who  stood  there  in  face  of  the  multitude, 
giving  such  testimony  at  risk  of  their  lives,  had 
seen  Jesus  ahve  after  He  had  been  buried  :  and 
therefore  He  must  have  been  raised  up.  They 
had  spoken  to  Him  and  eaten  in  His  presence ; 
and  some  of  them  who  could  scarcely  believe  it 
true,  had  been  at  pains  to  verify  the  fact,  and 
were  convinced  of  it.  How  could  any  fact  of 
the  kind  have  better  attestation  ?  Those  wit- 
nesses were  men  of  intelligence  and  character. 
They  knew  their  Master's  person  well  and  inti- 
mately, and  might  be  trusted  to  identify  Him. 
They  knew  that  He  had  died  to  bear  witness 
to  the  truth,  and  could  not  be  so  perverse  as  to 
think  that  they  could  promote  His  glory  by 
publishing  a  lie.  They  had  not  themselves  ex- 
pected His  resurrection,  and  so  could  not  have 
been  deluded  by  strong  anticipation,  or  made 
eager  desire  father  to  the  thought.  Moreover, 
the  evidence  which  they  relied  on  was  not  con- 
fined to  one  appearance  which  might  possibly 
be  resolved  into  a  dream  or  hallucination.  They 
saw  the  Lord  at  different  times  and  places. 
Now  one   or  two  saw  him,  now   several,  now 

hundreds  at  once,  during  a  space  of  nearly  six 
C 


34         ST  PETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

weeks.  There  never  has  been,  there  is  not  now, 
any  way  of  setting  aside  such  testimony,  except 
the  way  of  maintaining  that  no  evidence  what- 
ever can  prove  such  a  prodigy.  Acknowledge 
that  God  may  and  can  raise  the  dead  if  He 
pleases,  and  that  such  resurrection  is  capable  of 
proof  on  the  part  of  those  who  have  seen  the 
risen  one,  and  you  must  allow  that  it  is  abso- 
lutely certain  that  God  raised  up  Jesus  at  Jeru- 
salem. Jesus,  therefore,  was  the  Christ  whose 
delivery  from  Hades  David  prophesied. 

3.  The  argument  had  to  be  carried  one  step 
further ;  and  the  speaker,  who  evidently  studied 
compactness  of  statement,  not  knowing  how 
long  the  crowd  might  continue  to  listen,  pro- 
ceeded at  once  to  say,  not  merely  that  the 
crucified  Jesus  was  raised  up,  but  also  that  the 
risen  Jesus  was  exalted  by  the  right  hand  of 
God.  So  far  as  their  eyes  could  testify  to  such 
a  fact,  the  apostles  might  have  said  of  this  also — 
"We  are  witnesses,"  for  they  had  seen  their 
Master  taken  up  from  the  earth,  till  a  cloud 
received  Him  out  of  their  sight. 

On  this  point,  too,  St  Peter  found  support 
in  the  Old  Testament.  It  had  been  foretold 
that  One  who  was  entitled  to  be  addressed  as 


THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.  35 

Lord  should  ascend  and  sit  at  the  right  hand  of 
God.  The  reference  was  to  the  iioth  Psalm, 
"Jehovah  said  to  Adonai."  Every  one  knew 
who  was  meant  by  Jehovah :  but  who  was 
Adonai  ?  David  could  not  have  meant  himself, 
for  he  was  not  his  own  Lord  ;  far  less  could  he 
have  given  such  a  title  to  any  conqueror  among 
the  kings  of  the  earth.  The  spirit  had  inspired 
him  to  sing  thus  of  the  Lord  Christ  who  has  left 
this  world  and  gone  to  the  Father,  and  is  set 
down  with  the  Father  on  His  throne. 

But  how  could  it  be  shown  that  Jesus  had  so 
ascended,  and  was  therefore  at  this  point  also 
proved  to  be  the  Christ }  The  apostles  could 
not  and  did  not  say  that  they  had  seen  Him 
in  heaven.  They  had  stood  gazing  up  into  the 
sky  till  they  could  discern  His  rising  form  no 
more.  The  proof  of  His  ascension  was  before 
the  eyes  of  the  multitude  then  and  there.  On 
the  followers  of  Jesus,  and  on  them  only,  had 
descended  the  new  energy  from  heaven,  which 
they  affirmed  to  be  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  This  was  what  Jesus  of  Nazareth  had 
promised  to  send  to  them  from  the  Father; 
and  the  great  event  of  the  day  was  evidence 
that  He  had  ascended  to  the  right  hand  of  God, 


2,6         ST  PETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

and  had  received  of  the  Father  this  blessing 
now  so  copiously  poured  forth  on  His  assembled 
disciples  and  friends. 

Thus  the  proof  was  completed  at  every  point. 
There  was  no  declamation  in  St  Peter's  address 
but  compact  statement  and  close  reasoning, 
leading  up  to  the  conclusion  that  God  had 
made  the  crucified  Jesus  both  Lord  and  Christ. 
It  pierced  the  souls  of  the  multitude  with  a  tre- 
mendous force  of  conviction.  And  now  the 
little  band  of  Christians,  with  awed  and  grate- 
ful hearts,  beheld  the  crowd  no  longer  mock- 
ing, but  subdued,  ashamed,  conscience-stricken. 
Pricked  in  their  hearts,  many  cried  out — "  What 
shall  we  do } "  The  dreadful  deed  you  speak 
of  is  done  and  cannot  be  undone  !  Is  there  any 
thing  possible  to  us  still  ^  Or  is  this  crime  past 
remedy  ? 

A  welcome  interruption  to  the  speaker!  It 
showed  St  Peter  that  he  had  struck  the  right 
chord,  and  that  the  Holy^  Spirit  was  speaking 
through  him  to  the  people.  It  enabled  him  to 
follow  up  his  address  with  a  very  pointed  applica- 
tion of  its  truth,  and  a  very  earnest  appeal  to  all 
who  heard  him.  They  could  not  undo  their 
own  act  of  ingratitude  and  cruelty  to  the  Holy 


THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.  37 

One.  The  only  reversal  of  that  act  which  was 
possible  had  been  effected  already  by  the  opera- 
tion of  God  in  raising  up  Jesus  from  the  dead. 
But  this  they  might  do,  and  should  do  without 
delay — turn  to  Him  whom  they  had  rejected, 
honour  Him  whom  they  had  despised,  and  ob- 
tain through  His  name  the  same  blessing  as 
had  fallen  on  the  Christian  company  before 
them.  They  should  repent  and  be  baptized. 
Not  improbably  some  of  them  had  been  par- 
takers of  John's  baptism  unto  repentance  ;  but 
their  conduct  had  shown  that  they  were  far 
from  righteousness.  Therefore  they  were  now 
called  to  a  deeper  repentance  and  a  more  power- 
ful baptism. 

"  Repeiitr — It  was  not  enough  to  be  pricked 
in  heart,  uneasy,  perplexed,  alarmed.  Re- 
pentance is  more  than  vexation  with  one's  self, 
or  even  poignant  sorrow.  The  apostle  bade 
the  Jewish  multitude  reconsider  the  whole 
matter  in  which  they  had  blindly  followed  the 
lead  of  the  priests  and  elders,  and  so  change 
their  minds  regarding  the  Nazarene,  and  con- 
sequently change  their  attitude  towards  Him 
and  His  cause. 

^^  And  be  baptised  every  one  of  yon  nnto  the 
remission  of  sins  T — This  implied  that  they  should 


2,S         ST  TETER  TO  THE  MULTITUDE  ON 

believe,  and  confess  their  faith — for  faith  is 
always  allied  with  repentance  unto  life,  and  is 
the  instrument  of  forgiveness.  Those  who  sin- 
cerely repented  of  their  rejection  of  Jesus,  must 
now  believe  in  Him  as  the  Christ ;  and  in  token 
thereof  were  called  to  join  the  company  of  His 
followers  by  openly  receiving  that  baptism  into 
the  name  of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which,  before  His  ascension,  He  had 
authorised  His  apostles  to  administer. 

The  consequence  of  this  would  be,  that  they 
would  obtain  not  only  pardon  of  their  grievous 
sin  against  the  Lord,  but  the  gift  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  for  the  promise  of  this  blessing  was  to 
their  nation  first — to  them  and  their  posterity — 
though  also,  God  be  praised,  to  the  Gentiles — 
"  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call." 

Then  followed  other  words  of  exhortation, 
not  reported.  It  is  always  the  expository  and 
argumentative  substance  of  a  discourse  that  is 
best  worth  preserving — not  the  hortatory.  But 
St  Luke  sums  up  the  appeal  in  these  words — 
"  Save  yourselves  from  this  crooked  generation." 
This  epithet  the  Lord  Jesus  had  more  than 
once  applied  to  the  Jewish  people ;  and  now 
the  apostle  saw  in  the  light  of  His  Master's 


THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST.  39 

rejection  and  death,  how  true  was  the  charge  which 
it  expressed.  Their  whole  behaviour  to  Jesus 
showed  them  wrong-headed  and  perverse.  The 
best  thing  that  a  man  of  that  generation  could 
do  for  himself  was  to  escape  from  it,  to  renounce 
hostility  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  and  join  the  new 
fellowship  which  was  actuated  by  quite  another 
spirit,  for  it  had  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Such  was  the  speech  or  preaching  of  St  Peter 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  and  the  result  was 
glorious.  The  fisher  of  men  let  down  a  good 
net  into  the  deep,  and  caught  a  great  draught 
— drew  to  the  shore  of  faith  and  peace  three 
thousand  souls.  He  wrought  no  miracle  to 
astonish  and  impress  them.  It  was  better  that 
no  sign  or  prodigy  performed  by  the  apostles 
should  interfere  with  the  direct  and  solemn 
application  of  truth  to  the  conscience  on  that 
eventful  day.  He  performed  no  ceremony. 
The  notion  of  a  Christianity  that  trusts  to  cere- 
monial and  celebration  was  quite  foreign  to  the 
apostolic  conception.  The  speaker  prevailed 
by  the  word  of  his  testimony.  The  three 
thousand  felt  the  power  of  the  truth  and  yielded 
to  it — the  Spirit'  of  the  Lord  disposing  and  en- 


40      ST  PETER  OX  THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST. 

abling  them  so  to  do.  Thus  they  repented, 
believed,  were  baptised,  were  pardoned,  were 
quickened  to  newness  of  life. 

In  one  day !  The  day  of  the  Jews'  harvest 
home  became  a  day  of  the  ingathering  of  those 
who  were  to  be  "  a  kind  of  first  fruits  of  God's 
creatures,"  and  the  manifestation  of  the  power 
of  Jesus  Christ,  now  Lord  of  the  harvest,  to 
encourage  and  reward  His  labourers.  It  was 
the  typical  and  significant  day  of  our  dispen- 
sation, a  day  which  should  not  stand  alone,  but 
should  be  expected  to  repeat  itself  again  and 
again.  True,  there  cannot  be  a  second  or  a 
third  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  any  more  than 
there  can  be  a  second  or  a  third  incarnation  of 
the  Son.  But  the  Church  should  ask  and  look 
for  a  continuance  of  the  mighty  working  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  so  for  conversions  by  thou- 
sands. The  Church  wants  no  other  means  of 
increase  than  those  by  which  it  was  founded — 
(i)  the  fire  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  (2)  the  testi- 
mony of  anointed  witnesses  in  sound  speech 
that  cannot  be  gainsaid,  testifying  to  Jesus,  the 
Saviour,  that  He  is  the  Christ  of  Israel,  and  the 
Lord  of  all. 


III. 


ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE  IN   SOLOMON  S 
PORCH. 

"And  as  he  held  Peter  and  John,  all  the  people  ran  together 
unto  them  in  the  porch  that  is  called  Solomon's,  greatly  won- 
dering. And  when  Peter  saw  it,  he  answered  unto  the  people, 
Ye  men  of  Israel,  why  marvel  ye  at  this  man  ?  or  why  fasten 
ye  your  eyes  on  us,  as  though  by  our  own  power  or  godliness 
we  had  made  him  to  walk  ?  The  God  of  Abraham,  and  of 
Isaac,  and  of  Jacob,  the  God  of  our  fathers,  hath  glorified  his 
Servant  Jesus ;  whom  ye  delivered  up  and  denied  before  the 
face  of  Pilate,  when  he  had  determined  to  release  him.  But  ye 
denied  the  Holy  and  Righteous  One,  and  asked  for  a  murderer 
to  be  granted  unto  you,  and  killed  the  Prince  of  life ;  whom 
God  raised  from  the  dead ;  whereof  we  are  witnesses.  And 
by  faith  in  his  name  hath  his  name  made  this  man  strong, 
whom  ye  behold  and  know  :  yea,  the  faith  which  is  through 
him  hath  given  him  this  perfect  soundness  in  the  presence 
of  you  all.  And  now,  brethren,  I  wot  that  in  ignorance  ye 
did  it,  as  did  also  your  rulers.  But  the  things  which  God 
fore-shewed  by  the  mouth  of  all  the  prophets,  that  his  Christ 
should  suffer,  he  thus  fulfilled.  Repent  ye  therefore,  and  turn 
again,  that  your  sins  may  be  blotted  out,  that  so  there  may 
come  seasons  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  ;  and 
that  he  may  send  the  Christ  who  hath  been  appointed  for  you, 
even  Jesus  :  whom  the  heaven  must  receive  until  the  times  of  re- 
storation of  all  things,  whereof  God  spake  by  the  mouth  of  his 
holy  prophets  which  have  been  since  the  world  began.  Moses 
indeed  said,  A  prophet  shall  the  Lord  God  raise  up  unto  you 


42  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

from  among  your  brethren,  like  unto  me  ;  to  him  shall  ye 
hearken  in  all  things  whatsoever  he  shall  speak  unto  you.  And 
it  shall  be,  that  every  soul,  which  shall  not  hearken  to  that 
prophet,  shall  be  utterly  destroyed  from  among  the  people. 
Yea  and  all  the  prophets  from  Samuel  and  them  that  followed 
after,  as  many  as  have  spoken,  they  also  told  of  these  days. 
Ye  are  the  sons  of  the  prophets,  and  of  the  covenant  which 
God  made  with  your  fathers,  saying  unto  Abraham,  And  in  thy 
seed  shall  all  the  famiUes  of  the  earth  be  blessed.  Unto  you 
first  God,  having  raised  up  his  Servant,  sent  him  to  bless  you, 
in  turning  away  every  one  of  you  from  your  iniquities." — 
Acts  iii.  1 1-26. 

T  N  many  respects  this  speech  resembles  that 
-^  of  the  same  apostle  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost. It  was  delivered  to  an  excited  crowd, 
and  on  an  occasion  which  rose  suddenly.  Yet 
it  is  well  conceived  and  well  compacted,  and 
indicates  a  speaker  self-possessed,  or,  what  is 
even  better,  possessed  and  guided  by  the  spirit 
of  wisdom  and  of  power.  It  has  a  tone  quite  as 
deep  as  that  of  the  previous  speech,  with  which 
we  compare  it,  and  even  a  further  reach  of 
thought. 

On  the  former  occasion,  St  Peter  had  the 
eleven  apostles  standing  beside  him,  as  joining 
in  the  testimony.  In  this  instance  he  had  with 
him  only  the  apostle  John,  his  special  friend, 
whose  silent  but  courageous  sympathy  sustained 
and  fortified  his  spirit.      To  show  that  there 


IN  SOLOMON  S  PORCH.  43 

were  two  witnesses  to  Jesus  Christ,  though  only 
one  speaker,  St  Peter  spoke  in  the  plural. 
"  Why  fasten  you  your  eyes  upon  us .? "  Of 
the  Prince  of  Life  "  we  are  witnesses." 

Not  only  was  the  address  now  before  us 
similar  in  style  and  manner  to  that  which  had 
been  delivered  on  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  but, 
when  we  study  the  matter,  we  find  that,  though 
the  latter  speech  was  no  mere  repetition  of  the 
former  in  respect  of  thought,  it  followed  exactly 
the  same  track. 

I.  An  explanatory  introdnction. — On  a  former 
occasion  St  Peter  found  his  "  door  of  utter- 
ance "  through  a  foolish  and  malicious  gibe 
which  had  been  cast  at  the  christian  company, 
ascribing  their  spiritual  enthusiasm  to  the  ex- 
citement of  wine  bibbers.  In  the  present  in- 
stance, he  found  it  through  a  mistaken  admira- 
tion exhibited  towards  him  and  his  colleagues 
by  the  bystanders,  who  attributed  the  healing 
of  the  cripple  at  the  temple  to  their  power  or 
holiness.  The  apostles  earnestly  disclaimed  the 
wonder-working  faculty.  St  Peter  had  been 
careful  to  say  to  the  lame  man,  "  In  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  rise  up  and  walk." 
He  now  explained  to  the  people  that  the  power 


44  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

dwelt  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  was  called  into  exer- 
cise on  earth  by  faith  in  His  name. 

The  man  on  whom  the  cure  was  wrought  had 
probably  lain  by  that  door  of  the  temple  for 
many  months,  if  not  years,  for  he  was  laid  there 
daily  to  ask  alms.  If  so,  he  must  have  often 
seen  Jesus  and  the  disciples  as  they  went  in 
and  out ;  and  yet  he  obtained  no  healing,  be- 
cause he  had  no  faith  in  the  power  of  the 
Prophet  of  Nazareth  to  raise  him  up.  But, 
on  this  day,  the  faith  of  the  two  apostles  drew 
forth  power  from  the  Lord  ;  and  the  cripple 
also,  assisted  by  the  words  of  St  Peter,  and 
encouraged  by  the  grasp  of  his  right  hand, 
believed,  and  rose  to  his  feet.  So  the  glory 
of  this  act  of  healing  was  due  to  Jesus  only  ; 
and  St  Peter  laid  this  down  as  an  excellent 
starting  point  for  further  discourse  about  the 
w^onder-working  Jesus. 

At  the  same  time  he  was  careful  to  put  the 
fact  beyond  cavil  or  question.  The  man  who 
had  been  cured  so  suddenly  was  no  stranger, 
but  one  whom  all  the  people  knew.  The  cure 
was  complete,  for  he  now  had  "this  perfect 
soundness."  And  all  who  stood  by  were 
claimed   as  witnesses,  for  the  thing  was   done 


IN  SOLOMON  S  PORCH.  45 

"  in  presence  of  you  all.''  What  an  advantage 
the  appeal  to  the  spectators  gave  to  the  apostles 
in  their  subsequent  defence  before  the  Sanhe- 
drim, the  next  chapter  will  show. 

2.  A  declaration  conceming  Jesus  as  fulfilling 
the  Script 2 ires  of  the  Old  Testament. — In  the 
former  address,  the  apostle  had  gone  back  in 
his  quotations  to  the  Psalms  and  the  book  of 
Joel  ;  in  this  he  went  back  to  the  patriarchs, 
and  cited  the  words  of  Moses,  and  appealed  to 
all  the  prophets,  from  Samuel  downwards.  So 
doing,  he  faithfully  expressed  the  mind  of  his 
Master,  who  did  not  wrench  away  his  Jewish 
and  Galilean  disciples  from  the  reverence  which 
was  due  to  the  Scriptures  that  their  fathers 
honoured,  but  built  all  His  claims  and  doc- 
trines on  those  Scriptures,  and  showed  that  the 
psalmists  and  prophets  had  prepared  the  way 
for  Him,  and  the  patriarch  Abraham  had  re- 
joiced to  see  His  day. 

Such  is  the  course  which  must  always  be 
followed  in  teaching  Christianity  to  a  Jew. 
The  utmost  pains  must  be  taken  to  remove 
the  impression  that  a  son  of  Abraham  who 
acknowledges  Jesus  as  .the  Christ  apostatises 
to  a  new  religion,  and  deserts  the  faith  of  the 


46  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

patriarchs  and  prophets  of  Israel.  And  it  must 
be  held  and  proved  that  the  Jew  who  becomes 
a  Christian  follows  the  faith  of  Abraham,  Isaac, 
and  Jacob  far  more  closely  than  a  Jew  who  is 
not  a  Christian,  and  pays  a  more  intelligent 
homage  to  Moses,  and  Samuel,  and  all  the 
prophets. 

St  Peter  maintained  that  it  was  the  God  of 
the  patriarchs,  the  Portion  of  Israel,  who  had 
sent  Jesus  to  bless  His  people ;  and  described 
Jesus  as  the  Servant  of  Jehovah — a  title  given 
to  the  Messiah  in  the  latter  part  of  the  book  of 
Isaiah.  But  how  could  this  be  ?  How  could  it 
be  credited  that  the  rulers  and  religious  leaders 
of  the  people  had  been  fatally  mistaken  about 
this  Jesus,  and  only  a  few  men  and  women  from 
Galilee  had  known  Him }  The  apostle  felt  that 
he  had  to  meet  the  difficulty :  and  he  met  it  by 
saying  that  the  people  of  Jerusalem  and  their 
rulers  sinned  in  ignorance  when  they  rejected 
Jesus,  and  that  this  ignorance  did  not  contra- 
dict but  rather  fulfilled  ancient  oracles  which 
foretold  that  the  Christ  of  God  must  suffer. 
He  appealed  to  his  audience  in  regard  to  the 
character  and  life  of  Jesus,  that  these  were  in 
no  respect  unworthy  of  One  who  should  be  the 


IN  SOLOMON  S  PORCH.  47 

Servant  of  the  God  of  their  fathers.  He  had 
done  nothing  worthy  of  death.  On  the  con- 
trary, He  was  the  Holy  and  Righteous  One, 
and  they  had  deeply  sinned,  though  sinned  in 
ignorance,  when  they  extorted  from  the  Roman 
governor  sentence  of  death  against  Him,  pre- 
ferring as  an  object  of  clemency  such  a  criminal 
as  Barabbas.  One  was  Prince  of  Life ;  the 
other  a  destroyer  of  life ;  and  they  chose  the 
latter.  Jesus,  who  came  to  save  men's  lives, 
had  his  own  taken  away ;  while  Barabbas,  who 
had  violently  taken  away  life,  had  his  own 
spared. 

It  is  of  some  importance  to  observe  that  such 
a  vindication  of  Jesus  before  a  multitude  in 
Jerusalem  was  possible  so  soon  after  His  cruci- 
fixion. Holy  and  blameless  indeed  must  His 
life  have  been,  else  some  one  surely  would  have 
disputed  the  claim  so  boldly  advanced  in  His 
behalf,  and  would  have  alleged  some  fault  or 
moral  defect  to  show  that  He  was  not  so  very 
pure  or  righteous.  Depreciation  of  lofty  char- 
acters is  sweet  to  baser  natures.  How  can  we 
account  for  the  fact  that  no  one  challenged  the 
apostle's  words  in  praise  of  Jesus,  except  on  the 
ground  that  the  knowledge  and  conscience  of 


48  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

all  admitted  them  to  be  absolutely  true.  We 
have  already  said  that  before  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost there  must  have  been  strong  and  painful 
misgivings  among  the  people  of  Jerusalem  as  to 
the  justice  of  the  crucifixion  of  the  Galilean 
Prophet  at  the  recent  feast  of  the  Passover,  and 
what  occurred  at  Pentecost  must  have  seriously 
increased  those  misgivings.  Had  it  not  been 
for  these,  the  apostle  could  scarcely  have  so 
plainly  stigmatised  the  crucifixion  as  a  national 
crime  without  raising  a  tumult  of  anger. 

At  the  same  time,  he  showed  that  this  mal- 
treatment of  the  Servant  of  God  in  no  degree 
invalidated  His  Messianic  position,  but  rather 
confirmed  it.  He  was  the  prophet  foretold  by 
Moses.  He  was  the  glory  of  that  race  of  Abra- 
ham in  whom  all  the  families  of  the  earth  were 
to  be  blessed.  But  He  must  needs  be  rejected 
and  slain.  "  The  things  which  God  foreshadowed 
by  the  mouth  of  all  the  prophets,  that  the 
Christ  should  suffer,  He  thus  fulfilled." 

3.  A  71  announcement  of  the  exaltation  of 
Jesus. — In  this  respect  also,  St  Peter  closely 
followed  his  own  Pentecostal  speech.  The  time 
had  not  yet  come  for  teaching  the  sacrificial 
character  of  the  Lord's  death,  or  the  redemptive 


IN  SOLOMONS  PORCH.  49 

virtue  of  His  blood.  Probably  the  conceptions 
of  such  truth  formed  by  the  apostles  themselves 
were  still  vague  and  indefinite.  They  referred 
to  His  suffering,  not  in  order  to  glory  in  the 
cross  as  did  St  Paul  at  a  later  period,  but  to 
point  out  that  the  suffering  was  the  necessary 
prelude  to  His  exaltation,  and  that  the  rejection 
of  their  Master  by  the  rulers  and  people  at  Jeru- 
salem was  no  indication  that  He  had  been 
rejected  by  God ;  nay,  that  such  sentence  of 
rejection  had  been  divinely  reversed  by  the 
restoration  of  Jesus  from  the  dead,  and  His 
elevation  to  heavenly  power  and  dignity. 

The  people  of  Jerusalem  were  not  asked  to 
believe  this  without  proof.  Of  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  the  apostles  tendered  themselves  as 
witnesses.  There  stood  Peter  and  John,  who 
had  seen  the  empty  tomb,  and  had  looked  upon 
and  conversed  with  the  Lord  after  He  had 
risen.  They  were  willing  to  be  questioned  and 
cross-questioned  on  the  facts.  And  they  were 
prepared,  at  whatever  risk  to  themselves,  to 
affirm  the  resurrection  as  a  thing  of  which  they 
were  absolutely  sure.  Of  the  elevation  of  their 
risen  Lord  to  power  and  glory  in  heaven  they 
could  not  testify,  further  than  say  that  they 
D 


50  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

had  seen  Him  ascend  from  the  earth  till  lost  to 
view  among  the  clouds.  But  the  healing  of  the 
cripple  on  that  day  through  faith  in  the  name 
of  Jesus  tended  to  prove  both  that  the  Saviour 
lived,  and  that  He  was  clothed  with  power.  It 
was  not  a  dead  Prince  or  Lord,  but  a  living 
and  a  mighty  One  who  had  wrought  the  instant 
cure. 

The  meanings  which  underlie  the  crucifixion, 
resurrection,  and  ascension  of  Jesus  Christ,  and 
the  results  which  issue  from  these  facts,  may  be 
more  fully  developed  in  modern  teaching  than 
in  the  first  addresses  of  apostolic  preachers ; 
but  the  facts  themselves  must  retain  their  place 
as  central  in  all  Christian  testimony.  It  is  a 
vain  imagination  that  the  statement  of  such 
facts  has  been  superfluous  or  fallen  out  of  date, 
and  that  the  power  of  Christianity  now  consists 
solely  in  its  inculcation  of  a  pure  morality,  and 
an  unselfish  ideal  of  life.  It  has  such  a  lesson 
to  teach,  such  a  pattern  to  display,  in  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  ;  but  surely  it  is  necessary  to  explain 
who  He  was,  and  whither  He  has  gone.  It  also 
enforces  its  lesson,  and  the  imitation  of  its  pat- 
tern, by  motives  more  powerful  than  any  other 
religion    supplies.       It    lays   on    the   hearts    of 


IN  Solomon's  porch.  51 

Christians  the  constraining  love  and  moral 
authority  of  Jesus  Christ ;  but,  for  the  full 
action  of  such  motives  on  the  will,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  show  that  Jesus  Christ  died,  and  why 
He  died— that  He  rose,  and  why  He  rose.  So, 
in  order  to  reach  the  moral  effect  which  is  so 
much  desiderated,  we  must  continue  to  relate 
the  facts  which  formed  the  staple  of  the  earliest 
Christian  preaching,  that  Jesus  died  and  rose 
again,  that  He  suffered  and  so  entered  into 
glory. 

4.  A  call  to  repentance  in  order  to  remis- 
sion of  sins. — This  too  was  after  the  pattern 
already  set  in  the  speech  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost. "  Repent !  for  ye  have  done  evil !  Change 
your  minds  concerning  the  deed  done  at  the 
Passover,  and  concerning  Him  whom  ye  then 
denied  and  slew !  And  turn  ye !  for  in  reject- 
ing this  Jesus  ye  have  departed  from  the  God 
of  your  fathers,  and  refused  Him  of  whom 
Moses  and  all  the  prophets  testified."  Stier 
tersely  explains  the  two  terms  which  were 
used,  in  these  words: — "Repentance  is  the  nega- 
tive element,  the  penitent  aversion  to  the  by- 
gone wickedness  through  an  acknowledgment 
of  what  is  right.      Conversion   is  the  positive 


52  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

element,  a  believing  turning  to  the  future  good 
through  confidence  in  mercy."  '^ 

Pressing  on  the  consciences  of  his  hearers  the 
fearful  wrong  that  they  had  done,  the  apostle 
showed  a  kindly  wisdom  in  admitting  at  the 
same  time  all  that  could  be  urged  in  their 
behalf.  It  was  true  that  in  ignorance  they  had 
done  it.  The  Jewish  multitude  had  no  clear 
conception  of  the  heavenly  origin  and  dignity 
of  Jesus.  The  Roman  officers  and  soldiers  had 
no  conception  at  all.  They  all  had  acted  capri- 
ciously and  cruelly ;  but  they  had  not  wittingly 
rejected  and  crucified  the  Messiah.  Thus  they 
had  committed  not  a  presumptuous  sin,  but  a 
sin  of  ignorance.  And  the  apostle  encouraged 
the  Jews  to  repent  of  it,  by  a  promise  that  their 
sin  would  then  be  pardoned.  He  used  the 
expression  "  blotted  out,"  with  allusion  appar- 
ently to  the  ancient  mode  of  writing  on  tablets 
covered  with  wax.  If  the  scribe  wished  to 
obliterate  any  part  of  the  record,  he  had  but  to 
invert  the  stylus  in  his  hand,  smooth  the  soft 
wax,  and  remove  all  trace  of  the  writing.  So, 
if  the  people  would  repent  of  their  deed,  and 
turn  to  God,  He  would  obliterate   the   hand- 

*  Slier  on  the  Words  of  the  Apostles,  in  loc. 


IN  SOLOMONS  rORCIT.  53 

writing  which  was  against  them,  blot  out  the 
record  of  their  sin.  It  was  meant,  not  that  God 
would  cover  their  sins  with  the  virtue  of  their 
repentance,  but  that,  on  their  repentance.  He 
would  cover  and  expunge  their  sin  for  His  own 
name's  sake. 

No  man  can  really  cover  his  own  sin.  No 
angel  can  blot  it  out.  Sterne  wrote  as  a  senti- 
mentalist, not  a  divine,  when  he  described  the 
recording  angel  as  he  wrote  down  a  profane 
expression,  dropping  a  tear  upon  the  word,  and 
blotting  it  out  for  ever.  The  Lord  sends  angels 
on  His  errands  of  mercy  and  of  judgment,  but 
when  forgiveness  is  to  be  bestowed,  He  takes  it 
as  His  own  prerogative.  "  I,  even  I,  am  He 
that  blotteth  out  thy  transgressions  for  Mine 
own  sake,  and  will  not  remember  thy  sin." 

5.  A  glimpse  of  times  of  restitution. — At  this 
point  the  second  speech  to  the  people  went  far 
beyond  the  first.  Possibly  the  apostle  gave 
some  such  glimpse  into  the  future  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost ;  but  the  reporter  thought  it  enough 
to  state  that  "with  many  other  words  he  testified 
and  exhorted  them,  saying,  Save  yourselves 
from  this  crooked  generation."  On  that  great 
occasion  all  attention  was  absorbed   in  guiding 


54-  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

to  the  Saviour,  and  baptising  the  thousands 
whose  hearts  had  been  pricked.  But  now  that 
a  second  opportunity  was  given  to  him,  St  Peter 
more  distinctly  indicated  the  hope  for  the  future 
which  cheered  his  own  spirit  and  the  hearts  of 
his  apostolic  brethren. 

The  Authorised  Version  has  an  unfortunate 
rendering — "  When  the  times  of  refreshing  shall 
come  "  (v.  19).  This  seems  to  put  off  the  for- 
giveness of  sin  to  some  distant  period,  whereas 
pardon  is  immediate  on  repentance  and  faith. 
The  Revised  Version  has  it  correctly — "That 
so  there  may  come  seasons  of  refreshing  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord." 

The  mention  of  "  seasons  of  refreshing " 
(v.  19),  and  "  times  of  restoration  "  (v.  21)  recals 
the  words  which  passed  between  the  Lord  Jesus 
and  His  apostles  before  the  ascension.  They 
asked  whether  He  would  at  that  time  restore 
the  kingdom  to  Israel.  In  reply  He  told  them 
that  it  was  not  for  them  to  know  the  times  and 
the  seasons.  The  power  they  were  about  to  re- 
ceive would  qualify  them  to  do  the  work  wanted 
in  their  own  age — to  witness  to  Him  far  and 
near.  Then,  when  He  had  ascended,  **two 
men   in  white  apparel  "  assured  them  that  the 


IN  SOLOMONS  PORCH.  55 

Lord  would  in  like  manner  return  from  heaven. 
No  doubt  the  apostles  expected  that  He  would 
soon  return. 

We  must  remember  that  Simon  Peter  was 
speaking  on  Jewish  ground  to  a  Jewish  audi- 
ence. His  mind  dwelt  on  the  hope  of  Israel  as 
set  forth  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  prophets,  from 
Samuel  downwards.  They  foretold  a  time  when 
the  land  should  have  rest,  and,  after  long  vicis- 
situde and  oppression,  the  people  should  sit  at 
peace.  No  doubt  the  prophets  wrote  of  favour 
to  the  Gentiles  also ;  but  as  yet  St  Peter  knew 
not  the  purpose  of  God  concerning  the  union  of 
Jews  and  Gentiles  in  one  Church  ;  nor  had  he  a 
clear  conception  of  that  inheritance  laid  up  in 
heaven,  of  which  he  afterwards  wrote  in  his  first 
epistle.  His  mind  was  occupied  with  the 
restoration  of  the  kingdom  to  Israel,  and  the 
accomplishment  in  Palestine  of  all  the  things 

Foretold  by  prophets,  and  by  poets  sung, 
Whose  fire  was  kindled  at  the  prophet's  lamp. 

It  was  the  apostle's  conviction  that  the 
happy  age  for  Israel  would  be  introduced  by 
the  return  of  the  Lord  Jesus  from  heaven  ;  and 
therefore  he  preached  that  the  men  of  Israel 
should  turn  to  the  Lord  whom    they  had   re- 


56  ST  PETER  TO  THE  PEOPLE 

jected,  in  order  that  He  might  soon  descend 
from  heaven,  and  institute  His  kingdom  of 
peace.  While  He  had  been  with  them  they 
had  not  known  Him,  and  therefore  had  for- 
feited the  things  which  belonged  to  their  peace. 
Now  that  He  was  withdrawn  from  them  let 
them  turn  to  Him  whom  they  had  pierced,  that 
so  He  might  the  sooner  return  and  make  all 
things  new,  and  the  Messianic  age,  so  long  fore- 
told and  hoped  for,  would  at  once  begin. 

So  the  apostle  spoke  according  to  the  light 
which  he  then  possessed.  He  was  quite  un- 
aware of  the  length  of  time  which  was  to  elapse 
before  the  Saviour's  return.  In  the  last  chapter 
of  his  second  epistle — the  last  thing  we  have 
from  him — we  see  how  he  thought  of  the  second 
advent  after  many  years.  He  then  perceived 
that  the  Lord  tarried,  not  with  reference  to  the 
Jews  merely,  but  for  the  sake  of  all  mankind, 
'*  wishing,  not  that  any  should  perish,  but  that 
all  should  come  to  repentance."  He  also  came 
to  know  that  larger  hope  of  which  St  Paul 
wrote — the  hope  of  a  restoration  of  all  things  in 
earth  and  heaven,  and  Christ  as  the  glorious 
Head.  But  though  his  thoughts  needed  widen- 
ing, the  Apostle  Peter  was  quite  correct  in  sub- 


IN  SOLOMON  S  PORCH.  57 

stance  in  the  language  he  addressed  to  the 
people  of  Jerusalem.  And  the  lesson  is  good 
for  Gentile  Christians  as  well  as  Jews,  viz.,  that 
the  way  to  prepare  and  hasten  the  coming  of 
the  Son  of  Man  is  to  repent  of  our  sins  against 
Him,  and  pray  to  Him,  ''  Come,  Lord  Jesus ; 
come  quickly  !  "  Then  when  He  has  come  He 
will  bring  in  the  reign  of  righteousness  and 
peace,  of  which  we  have  heard  so  much  from 
the  sweet  harp  of  prophecy. 

St  Peter  was  still  preaching  Christ  to  his 
audience,  and  explaining  to  them  that  God  had 
sent  His  Servant  first  to  them,  the  men  of  Israel, 
with  the  benevolent  purpose  of  turning  them 
away  from  their  iniquities,  when  he  was  roughly 
interrupted  by  the  Jewish  authorities.  He  was 
arrested  along  with  his  companion,  St  John,  in 
order  to  answer  to  the  Sanhedrim  for  such 
public  teaching.  But  the  preaching  was  not 
without  great  reward.  "Many  of  them  that 
heard  the  word  believed,  and  the  number  of  the 
men  came  to  be  about  five  thousand." 

A  modern  preacher  of  Christ  may  not  be 
stopped  by  violent  hands,  but  he  may  be  unex- 
pectedly silenced  by  disabling  disease,  or  may 


58        ST  PETER  IN  Solomon's  porch. 

have  one,  or  at  most  two,  great  opportunities  as 
Peter  had  in  Jerusalem,  and  never  have  so  wide 
a  door  of  usefulness  again.  Let  him  on  every 
occasion,  great  or  small,  so  "  redeem  the  oppor- 
tunity," and  speak  the  truth  so  plainly  and  so 
earnestly,  that,  at  what  time  soever  his  voice 
may  be  silenced,  the  word  of  the  Lord  may  still 
'*  have  free  course." 


IV. 

ST    PETER   TO   THE    SANHEDRIM. 

"  Then  Peter,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  said  unto  them.  Ye 
rulers  of  the  people,  and  elders,  if  we  this  day  are  examined 
concerning  a  good  deed  done  to  an  impotent  man,  by  what 
means  this  man  is  made  whole ;  be  it  known  unto  you  all,  and 
to  all  the  people  of  Israel,  that  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  of 
Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified,  whom  God  raised  from  the  dead, 
even  in  Him  doth  this  man  stand  here  before  you  whole.  He  is 
the  stone  which  was  set  at  nought  of  you  the  builders,  which  was 
made  the  head  of  the  corner.  And  in  none  other  is  there  sal- 
vation :  for  neither  is  there  any  other  name  under  heaven, 
that  is  given  among  men,  wherein  we  must  be  saved." — Acts 
iv.  8-12. 

WHEN  arrested  by  the  temple  guard,  the 
Apostles  Peter  and  John  were  obliged 
to  spend  a  night  "  in  ward,"  pending  their 
arraignment  before  the  Jewish  Council  in  the 
morning.  How  vividly  must  it  have  recalled 
to  their  minds  the  night,  then  so  recent,  when 
their  Master  was  seized  by  the  guard,  and  after 
a  sleepless  night,  was  brought  before  the  Council 
in  the  early  morning,  and  pronounced  worthy 
of  death  !     At  that  time  they  were  not  able  to 


6o  ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

drink  of  His  cup  or  be  baptised  with  His  bap- 
tism: but  now  they  were  able.  Out  of  weak- 
ness they  were  made  strong,  and  showed  a  glo- 
rious example  to  all  who  in  after  times  should 
be  called  to  suffer  as  Christians.  They  took 
their  places  in  the  very  front  of  the  long  histo- 
rical procession  of  confessors  and  martyrs  for 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

When  the  morning  came,  the  Sanhedrim  as- 
sembled in  force.  The  high-priestly  family  was 
there,  headed  by  the  aged  Annas.  It  was  he 
who,  with  his  son-in-law  Caiaphas,  had  been 
most  responsible  for  the  condemnation  of  Jesus; 
and  the  sight  of  these  two  men  in  their  places 
of  authority  might  well  have  struck  a  chill  to 
the  hearts  of  the  two  followers  of  Jesus.  The 
two  great  sects  of  the  period  were  represented 
in  the  Council,  and,  however  they  differed  from 
each  other,  were  equally  hostile  to  the  name  of 
the  Prophet  of  Nazareth.  The  Sadducees,  to 
which  sect  the  priests  belonged,  were  especially 
incensed  at  the  preaching  of  our  Lord's  resur- 
rection from  the  dead,  because  it  contradicted 
one  of  their  leading  tenets.  The  Pharisees,  if 
they  did  not  occupy  the  highest  seats,  were 
the   more   numerous   party,   and    though   they 


ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM.  6  I 

admitted  the  possibility  of  a  resurrection,  had 
their  own  reasons  for  refusing  to  believe  that 
Jesus  had  risen,  and  were  determined  to  sup- 
press the  testimony  to  that  effect,  which  was 
making  such  a  stir  in  Jerusalem.  They  had 
felt  the  sharp  edge  of  our  Lord's  warnings  and 
reproofs,  had  bitterly  resented  His  teaching, 
had  repeatedly  sought  to  seize  Him,  being 
prevented  only  by  fear  of  the  multitude  who 
regarded  Him  as  a  prophet,  and  had  been  the 
most  active  in  planning  and  accomplishing  His 
capture  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane.  There- 
fore, while  the  Sadducees  were  annoyed  at  the 
apostolic  witness  to  the  risen  Jesus,  the  Pha- 
risees were  vexed  that  the  crucified  Jesus,  whose 
rejection  they  had  so  anxiously  contrived,  should 
be  preached  and  honoured  in  the  very  courts  of 
the  Temple. 

Brought  into  the  presence  of  this  High  Court, 
the  two  apostles  were  interrogated  upon  the 
healing  of  the  cripple  on  the  previous  day. 
The  fact  of  the  cure  could  not  well  be  disputed, 
for  the  man  who  was  healed  entered  the  council 
chamber,  and  stood  with  the  apostles,  a  witness 
not  to  be  shaken ;  but  the  prejudice  in  the 
minds  of  the  councillors  was  shown   in   their 


62  ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

avoidance  of  any  acknowledgment  of  the  act 
of  healing,  merely  using  the  phrase,  "  Ye  have 
done  this."  They  also  betrayed  their  hostile 
feeling  to  the  prisoners,  by  affecting  to  take 
them  for  sorcerers  or  diviners,  who  had  wrought 
a  cure,  real  or  apparent,  by  some  magical  incanta- 
tion— "  By  what  power,  or  in  what  name,  have 
ye  done  this.'*"  The  object  apparently  was  to 
entrap  the  prisoners  into  an  admission  that  they 
had  practised  divination  in  the  name  of  another 
than  Jehovah,  in  which  case  tljey  might  be 
sentenced  to  be  stoned  to  death. 

It  was  in  answer  to  such  an  inquiry,  and  with 
full  cognisance  of  such  a  deadly  peril,  that 
Simon  Peter  spoke  for  his  companion  and  him- 
self. And  what  a  speech !  How  admirably 
compact,  and  nobly  courageous  !  Remember 
that  but  a  few  weeks  or  months  before,  this 
man  had  been  so  alarmed  at  the  imputa- 
tion of  being  a  follower  of  Jesus,  as  to  deny 
Him  even  with  oaths  ;  and  now  see  him  stand, 
calm  and  intrepid,  before  the  whole  Sanhedrim, 
and  speak  even  to  the  Chief  Priests  of  what 
they  were  least  willing  to  hear.  The  change  in 
the  man  cannot  be  otherwise  accounted  for 
than   by  the  fact  which  the   historian  affirms, 


ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM.  63 

that  Peter  was  "filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  So 
was  accomplished  the  Master's  promise,  "  I  will 
give  you  a  mouth  and  wisdom  which  all  your 
adversaries  shall  not  be  able  to  withstand  or  to 
gainsay." 

This  speech  of  St  Peter,  being  not  only  short, 
but  also  very  clear  and  direct,  does  not  require 
much  exposition. 

The  apostle  asked  for  what  reason  he  and 
his  colleague  were  thus  seized  and  interrogated. 
With  what  error  or  offence  were  they  charged  ? 
Was  this  judicial  inquiry  all  about  a  good  deed 
done  to  an  impotent  man  ?  What  fault  in  that  > 
Must  one  ask  leave  of  the  Council  before  doing 
a  kindness  to  a  poor  son  of  Israel  ?  And  why 
such  vague  language  about  the  deed  ?  St  Peter 
brought  it  out  roundly  and  distinctly,  whether 
the  Council  liked  it  or  no,  that  the  cripple  was 
undoubtedly  healed.  Twice  he  said  it,  "  This 
man  is  made  whole.''  "  This  man  stands  here 
before  you  whole." 

Thus  about  the  thing  which  had  been  done, 
there  must  be  no  mistake.  The  only  question 
that  could  be  raised  was  in  reference  to  the 
healing  power ;  and  the  apostle  proceeded  to 
show  that  this  was  no  magical  charm  or  divina- 


64  ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

tion.  He  had  spoken  to  the  cripple  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth ;  and  the 
healing  power  had  issued  from  that  Holy  One 
whom  the  priests  and  rulers  of  the  Jews  fool- 
ishly imagined  that  they  had  for  ever  disgraced 
and  destroyed.  One  can  see  the  frown  gather- 
ing on  their  faces,  and  the  light  of  love  and 
courage  brightening  the  countenances  of  the  two 
apostles  at  the  mention  of  the  name  of  Him 
whom  that  very  Council  had  so  recently  con- 
demned. 

Not  knowing  how  long  he  might  be  permitted 
to  speak,  St  Peter  packed  into  the  space  of  one 
or  two  sentences,  and  spoke  promptly,  what  he 
had  to  say  to  the  Council  regarding  the  sin  of 
rejecting  Jesus,  and  God's  sublime  reversal  of 
the  unjust  sentence  by  raising  up  the  rejected 
and  crucified  One  to  be  Prince  and  Saviour. 
He  had  already  gone  over  this  ground  in  a 
more  deliberate  manner  in  his  two  speeches  to 
the  multitude ;  but  now  for  the  first  time  he 
had  the  opportunity  to  make  this  statement  to 
the  very  persons  who  had  played  the  chief  part 
in  the  great  crime  committed  at  the  Passover — 
who  had  plotted  against  the  life  of  Jesus,  bribed 
Judas  to  betray  Him,  pretended  to  find  Him 


ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHKDRIM.  65 

guilty  of  blasphemy,  and  then  sent  Him  to 
Pilate  on  a  charge  of  high  treason,  and  insisted 
on  His  being  crucified. 

That  the  crucifixion  was  of  their  procuring, 
though  carried  out  by  the  Roman  authorities, 
those  Sanhedrists  could  not  deny,  and  did 
not  care  to  deny.  But  St  Peter  indicated  an 
aspect  of  the  case,  which,  if  true,  was  very 
serious  for  them.  They  had  professed  to  act 
as  men  zealous  for  the  honour  of  God,  and 
shocked  at  the  blasphemous  claims  put  forward 
by  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  who,  as  they 
alleged,  was  no  prophet,  but  a  deceiver  of  the 
people.  But  if  God  had  accepted  Him  whom 
they  had  rejected,  and  raised  up  Him  whom 
they  had  put  to  death,  it  followed  that  they 
did  not  know  the  mind  of  God :  they  were 
spiritually  blind  as  well  as  envious  and  cruel. 
And  the  apostles  were  there  to  testify  fearlessly 
that  God  had  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead. 
It  was  useless  to  tell  them  the  story  that  the 
dead  body  had  been  stolen  and  hidden  away. 
They  had  seen  Him  alive  after  His  resurrec- 
tion. 

But  how  could  such  a  thing  be  ?  How  im- 
probable that  the  leaders  of  the  nation  should 


66  ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

all  have  failed  to  recognise  the  Messiah,  and 
only  these  fishermen  and  a  few  other  private 
persons  taken  his  part  ?  One  can  imagine 
members  of  the  council  ready  to  exclaim,  as 
Simon  Peter's  bold  words  sounded  through  the 
chamber — "  The  thing  is  incredible,  impossible. 
This  is  the  holy  Sanhedrim,  filled  with  men  of 
reputation,  who  know  the  Scriptures,  and  are 
presided  over  by  the  High  Priest.  It  can- 
not be  that  such  a  court  should  have  so  terribly 
misjudged  the  character  and  claims  of  Jesus, 
and  put  to  death  that  Christ  for  whose  coming 
so  many  generations  in  Israel  have  waited  and 
prayed  ! "  The  apostle  anticipated  this  incredu- 
lity, and  quoted  from  the  Psalter  to  show  that 
such  a  rejection  of  the  Messiah  was  not  merely 
possible,  but  actually  foretold  in  the  Scriptures. 
The  suggestion,  doubtless,  was  taken  from 
the  apostle's  recollection  of  his  Master's  lan- 
guage to  those  chief  priests  and  elders  a  few 
days  before  His  crucifixion.  He  then  quoted 
to  them  the  words  of  the  Ii8th  Psalm: — 

The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected, 
The  same  was  made  the  head  of  the  corner : 
This  was  from  the  Lord, 
And  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes. 

The  priests  and  Pharisees  at  that  time  did  not 


ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM.  6/ 

clearly  understand  the  quotation,  but  they  per- 
ceived that  it  was  directed  against  them,  and 
were  all  the  more  incensed  against  Jesus,  and 
bent  on  His  destruction.  But  Simon  Peter 
remembered  the  quotation,  and  now  repeated 
it,  pointing  the  charge  directly  against  the 
Jewish  authorities  in  whose  presence  He  stood. 
"  Set  at  nought  of  you  builders."  It  was  great 
plainness  of  speech.  "  Your  religious  position, 
O  Sanhedrists !  is  admitted.  You  are  the  hus- 
bandmen of  the  vineyard  who  have  killed  the 
Heir.  You  are  the  builders,  bound  by  your 
offices  to  erect  the  spiritual  temple  of  the  Lord, 
and  you  have  erred  at  the  very  foundation,  and 
by  your  wicked  prejudice  have  set  at  nought 
Him  who  is  the  true  Stone  of  Israel." 

Certainly  those  who  have  taken  St  Peter 
himself  for  the  foundation  of  the  Church  have 
not  been  misled  by  him  ;  for  both  in  speaking 
and  in  writing*  he  laid  special  emphasis  on 
the  fact  that  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  none 
but  He,  is  "the  chosen  corner  stone,  the  sure 
foundation."  Wherever  in  the  New  Testament 
a  fundamental  position  is  assigned  to  one 
apostle,  t  or  to  the  twelve,:}:  or  to  the  apostles 

*  I  Pet.  ii.  4-8.  t  Matt,  xvi,  18.  I  Rev.  xxi.  14. 


68  ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

and  prophets  together,*  it  is  evidently  ascribed 
to  them  as  bearing  that  original  witness  to 
Christ  on  which  the  Church  rests ;  and  so  the 
truth  is  only  made  all  the  clearer  that — 

Christ  is  made  the  sure  foundation, 
And  the  precious  Corner  Stone  ; 

Chosen  of  the  Lord,  and  precious, 
Binding  all  the  Church  in  one. 

One  sentence  more  and  the  apostle  has 
finished  his  speech.  But  he  felt  that  he  must 
say  it — he  must  preach  the  gospel  to  the  San- 
hedrim, so  as  to  be  clear  of  the  blood  of  all  who 
heard  him.  In  the  spirit  of  his  Master,  he 
wished  to  do  good  to  those  who  despitefully  used 
him  ;  and,  after  the  manner  of  his  Master,  he 
rose  from  the  consideration  of  an  act  of  bodily 
healing  to  the  thought  of  moral  and  spiritual 
healing,  or  salvation.  To  set  Jesus  Christ  at 
nought  as  they  had  done,  and  were  still  doing, 
was  the  way  to  destroy  themselves  and  their 
city.  To  have  faith  in  His  name,  as  the  two 
apostles  had,  was  the  way  to  be  saved  and  to 
save  others.  Thus,  while  the  council  sought 
his  hurt,  St  Peter  sought  their  salvation ;  while 
the  council  put  him  to  the  question  as  for  life  or 

*  Eph.  ii.  20.      I  Cor.  xii.  28. 


ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM.  69 

death,  he  put  before  them  a  higher  question  of 
life  or  death,  salvation  or  perdition,  to  be  deter- 
mined by  the  attitude  they  should  thenceforth 
assume^toward  Jesus  Christ  of  Nazareth,  whom 
they  had  crucified  but  God  had  raised  from  the 
dead. 

"  And  in  none  other  is  there  salvation ;  for 
neither  is  there  any  other  name  under  heaven, 
that  is  given  among  men,  wherein  we  must  be 
saved."  It  was  on  this  sentence  that  Bengel 
wrote  his  "  Examination  Sermon  before  Ordi- 
nation." He  was  only  in  his  twentieth  year  ; 
and  the  sermon,  which  is  extant,  bears  marks 
of  inexperience,  but  it  breathes,  as  did  Bengel 
all  his  life  long,  a  spirit  of  ardour  towards  the 
Saviour;  and  the  discussion  of  the  text  is  pre- 
faced with  this  short  prayer — "  O  Lord  Jesus 
Christ!  whose  name  is  as  ointment  poured 
forth,  most  salutary  and  refreshing,  mercifully 
grant  us  all  to  experience  its  grace  and  sweet 
savour,  that,  being  strengthened  by  its  mighty 
power,  we  may  zealously  follow  Thee  in  life  and 
death,  through  honour  and  dishonour !    Amen." 

So  Jesus  Christ  was  preached  in  the  most 
difficult  spot  that  the  preacher  could  have  occu- 
pied— the    Council    Chamber    of   the    Jews — 


70  ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

preached  to  the  very  men  who  were  most 
guilty  of  His  blood.  St  Peter  had  not  only  no 
fear,  but  also  no  desire  to  retaliate,  no  word  of 
menace,  no  thirst  for  revenge.  He  did  not 
even  petition  for  his  own  discharge  and  that 
of  his  fellow-apostle  from  custody.  He  forgot 
it  in  his  zeal  for  his  Master's  glory  as  a  Saviour, 
and  his  intense  longing  that  even  these  San- 
hedrists  might  receive  salvation  through  the 
Saviour's  name.  And  with  a  fine  union  of 
courage  and  humility  said  not  ''ye  must  be," 
but  "  we  must  be  saved,"  including  in  one  view 
all  who  were  gathered  together  in  the  chamber, 
from  the  high  priest  downwards,  with  the  apos- 
tolic prisoners  and  the  police  who  guarded  them, 
and  the  man  who  had  been  healed.  Through 
Jesus  Christ  alone  must  we,  or  any  of  us,  be 
saved. 

It  is  a  great  saying,  and  one  that  has  vastly 
widened  its  application  since  it  was  spoken  at 
Jerusalem,  for  Jesus  Christ  has  now  been 
preached  in  many  lands  and  for  many  centu- 
ries. How  God  will  deal  with  nations  and 
tribes  that  have  not  heard  of  Jesus  Christ  and 
His  power  to  save,  this  saying  does  not  deter- 
mine.    Such  a  problem  had  no  place    in  the 


ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM.  7 1 

thoughts  of  the  apostles  on  that  day.  Enough 
for  their  purpose,  as  also  for  ours,  to  say  that 
those  to  whom  Christ  is  preached  may  and 
must  be  saved  only  in  and  through  His  name. 

Mark  the  effect  of  this  brave  and  holy  speech. 
After  the  addresses  of  St  Peter  to  the  multitude 
we  hear  of  conversions  by  the  thousand ;  but 
these  Jewish  officials  were  not  at  all  so  open  to 
conviction.  Self-righteous  Pharisees,  and  scep- 
tical Sadducees  of  any  nation  are  not  easily 
converted. 

Unwilling  to  go  into  the  pith  of  the  matter, 
the  council  occupied  itself  with  questions  on 
the  surface.  How  were  those  men — mere  lay- 
men, so  to  speak — so  bold  in  their  august  pre- 
sence !  Had  they  not  been  ?  Yes  ;  they  re- 
cognised them  (John  was  known  to  the  High 
Priest)  as  having  been  among  the  Galilean  com- 
panions of  Jesus.  And  then  came  the  lame  and 
impotent  conclusion  :  Let  the  affair  be  hushed 
up !  And  such  has  often  been  the  owlish 
wisdom  of  personages  high  placed,  but  timid 
about  the  spread  of  truth  and  knowledge.  New 
facts  are  inconvenient;  let  them  be  ignored. 
Fresh  light  is  a  disturbing  element ;  let  it  be 
put  safely  under  a  bushel. 


72  ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM. 

But  men  who  thus  arrange  to  stifle  what  they 
do  not  wish  to  admit,  know  Httle  of  the  force 
of  truth,   or   the   loyalty  to   it   which   is    the 
passion    of    noble    minds.      Peter    and    John 
made  a  most  memorable  answer  to  the  ordin- 
ance  of  silence   enjoined   by  the   Sanhedrim. 
"Whether  it  be  right  in  the  sight  of  God  to 
hearken  unto  you  rather  than  unto  God,  judge 
ye :  for  we  cannot  but  speak  the  things  which 
we  have  seen  and  heard."     Well  for  us,  and 
for  all  the  world,  that  those  witnesses  could  not 
be  brow-beaten,  those  preachers  could  not  be 
silenced.      The   testimony  which    they  would 
not  abandon  has  gained  the  day,  and  become 
the  creed  of  all  Christendom.     It  is  Peter  and 
John    who    are    strong    to-day ;     Annas    and 
Caiaphas   who   are    weak.      Christianity    does 
not    stand    at    the    bar    of    a    Jesus-rejecting 
Judaism  to   receive   sentence.      On    the    con- 
trary, it  summons  such  Judaism  to  answer  for 
itself.      If    Jesus    of    Nazareth    was    not    the 
Messiah,  who  is  and  where  is  your  Messiah,  ye 
men  of  Israel !     Has  not  this  Jesus  done  what 
you  have  scarcely  attempted  to  do — turned  the 
Gentiles  from  their  idols,  and  spread  over  all 
the  world  a  knowledge  of  your  Scriptures,  and 


ST  PETER  TO  THE  SANHEDRIM.  73 

a  reverence  for  the  law,  the  psalms,  and  the 
prophets  ?  Has  He  not  saved  ;  is  He  not  now 
saving  thousands  from  their  sins ;  and  is  not 
His  the  dominion  that  goes  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  ?  What  think  you  of  the 
conduct  of  your  chief  priests  and  rulers  in 
taking  away  His  life,  and  preferring  to  Him 
a  bandit  like  Barabbas,  a  destroyer  of  life,  and 
not  a  saviour  ?  And  what  have  you  to  say  for 
your  continued  rejection  and  hatred  of  One 
whom  all  the  world  recognises  as  the  greatest 
son  of  Israel  who  ever  lived  ?  When  will  you 
see  what  is  so  obvious  to  all  others  who  have 
ever  read  the  history,  that  Peter  and  John  were 
right,  Annas  and  Caiaphas  wrong?  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  is  the  Saviour  of  men,  and  you,  even 
as  we,  if  saved  at  all,  must  be  saved  through 
His  name. 


ST   PETER  AT   C.ESAREA   TO   A  GENTILE 
COMPANY. 

**  The  word  which  he  sent  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  preach- 
ing good  tidings  of  peace  by  Jesus  Christ  (he  is  Lord  of  all) — 
that  saying  ye  yourselves  know,  which  was  published  through- 
out all  Judaea,  beginning  from  Galilee,  after  the  baptism  which 
John  preached ;  even  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  how  that  God  anointed 
him  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  power :  who  went  about 
doing  good,  and  healing  all  that  were  oppressed  of  the  devil ; 
for  God  was  with' him.  And  we  are  witnesses  of  all  things 
which  he  did  both  in  the  country  of  the  Jews,  and  in  Jerusalem ; 
whom  also  they  slew,  hanging  him  on  a  tree.  Him  God  raised 
up  the  third  day,  and  gave  him  to  be  made  manifest,  not  to  all 
the  people,  but  unto  witnesses  that  were  chosen  before  of  God, 
even  to  us,  who  did  eat  and  drink  with  him  after  he  rose  from 
the  dead.  And  he  charged  us  to  preach  unto  the  people,  and 
to  testify  that  this  is  he  which  is  ordained  of  God  to  be  the 
Judge  of  quick  and  dead.  To  him  bear  all  the  prophets  witness, 
that  through  his  name  every  one  that  believeth  on  him  shall 
receive  remission  of  sins." — Acts  x.  36-43. 

THE  Lord  gave  to  Simon  Peter  "  the  keys 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven."  They  were 
not  keys  of  heaven,  the  apostle  being  porter  at 
the  gate,  as  later  superstition  fancied.  They 
were  not  keys  of  the  Church,  militant  or  tri- 


ST  PETER  TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.         75 

umphant,  but  keys  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
on  earth.  The  use  made  of  them  we  learn  from 
this  history.  St  Peter  used  a  key  at  Jerusalem 
to  open  the  kingdom  of  heaven  to  the  Jews;  a 
second  at  Samaria,  to  open  the  same  kingdom 
to  the  Samaritans;  a  third  at  Caesarea,  to  open 
it  to  the  Gentiles.  These  were  from  his  point 
of  view  the  three  divisions  of  the  human  race. 
So,  in  the  three  places  which  have  been  named, 
the  apostle  preached  the  word  of  life,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  fell  on  those  who  heard  it. 

We  know  that  the  Lord  designed  another, 
not  yet  named  in  the  history,  to  be  His  apostle 
to  the  Gentiles.  St  Paul  was  to  spread  the 
gospel  among  the  nations  more  widely  than 
any  one  of  the  Twelve,  to  grapple  more  firmly 
and  skilfully  with  the  religious  and  social 
problems  connected  with  the  increase  of  Gentile 
Christianity,  and  to  establish  more  clearly  the 
freedom  of  the  Church  from  the  yoke  of 
Judaism.  There  was,  however,  obvious  ad- 
vantage in  the  employment  of  St  Peter  to 
open  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Gentiles.  He 
was  known  to  all  the  brethren  in  Jerusalem 
as  a  strict  Jew  in  his  way  of  thinking  and  his 
adherence  to  hereditary  usage  ;  and  if  such  a 


76  ST  PETER  AT  CvESAREA 

man  as  he  was  satisfied  of  the  extension  of 
God's  grace  to  the  Gentiles,  his  word  to  that 
effect  would  go  far  to  abate  the  prejudice,  and 
win  the  assent  and  sympathy  of  all  the  Hebrew 
Christians.  We  have  evidence  of  this  in  the 
chapter  following. 

At  Csesarea  St  Peter  did  not  make  the 
occasion  for  his  speech.  It  was  made  for 
him  by  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  was  now  direct- 
ing from  heaven  the  activities  of  His  servants 
in  the  foundation  and  extension  of  the  Church. 
It  was  the  Lord  who  prepared  the  centurion 
Cornelius  to  hear,  and  at  the  same  time  pre- 
pared the  apostle  to  speak  with  a  degree  of 
freedom  from  Jewish  narrowness,  and  sympathy 
with  the  Gentile  mind,  such  as  he  never  felt  or 
displayed  till  that  eventful  day. 

The  audience  was  quite  different  from  those 
crowds  in  Jerusalem  which  St  Peter  had  pre- 
viously addressed.  Cornelius  and  his  friends 
were  Gentiles  by  extraction :  the  centurion 
himself  almost  certainly  an  Italian.  A  deep 
furrow  separated  them  in  social  life  from  Jews 
and  Galileans  ;  and  yet,  there  was  an  approxi- 
mation which  tended  in  some  measure  to 
facilitate    the    apostle's    task.       The     Roman 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  'T] 

military  stationed  at  Caesarea  could  not  be 
quite  unaffected  by  their  surroundings.  They 
were  not  in  a  heathen  country,  but  in  a  com- 
munity which  worshipped  one  invisible  God 
without  help  of  images,  and  some  of  them  at 
all  events  must  have  had  acquaintance  with 
the  Jewish  Scriptures.  The  centurion  himself 
was  "a  devout  man,  and  one  that  feared  God 
with  all  his  house,  and  gave  much  alms  to  the 
people,  and  prayed  to  God  alway."  It  was 
a  character  which  few,  if  any,  of  the  native 
Jews  can  have  surpassed. 

On  the  invitation  of  this  good  officer,  the 
apostle  Peter  had  come  from  Joppa  with  six 
Jewish  brethren.  He  had  taken  these  brethren 
with  him  as  helpers  and  witnesses,  for  both  the 
character  of  the  invitation  which  was  brought 
to  him,  and  its  coincidence  with  a  remarkable 
vision  which  had  revealed  to  him  the  abolition 
of  those  distinctions  which  had  hitherto  made 
it  almost  impossible  for  a  Jew  to  have  much 
intercourse  with  Gentiles,  indicated  to  St  Peter 
that  his  visit  to  Caesarea  was  to  have  important 
bearings  on  the  future  of  Christianity  and  the 
Church. 

In  his  two  speeches  to  the  multitude  at  Jeru- 


78  ST  PETER  AT  C^SAREA 

salem,  the  apostle  began  by  removing  a  mis- 
conception from  the  minds  of  those  whom  he 
addressed.  In  the  speech  at  Csesarea,  he  ac- 
knowledged the  removal  of  a  misconception 
from  his  own  mind.  He  had  always  known 
that  the  God  of  the  Jews  was  by  right  the  God 
of  the  Gentiles  also — the  only  true  God.  He 
had  also  known  that  the  Gentiles  were  to  be 
enlightened  and  blessed  under  the  Messiah ; 
but  he  had  assumed  that  in  order  to  this  they 
would  have  to  enter  the  covenant  of  circumci- 
sion, and  be  conformed  and  even  subordinated 
to  the  chosen  race  of  Israel.  But  now  light 
had  broken  in  upon  his  mind  through  the  mid- 
day vision  at  Joppa.  He  now  perceived  that 
fleshly  distinctions,  and  separations  of  race 
which  had  long  been  in  force  were  not  to  be 
retained  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  on  earth. 
The  love  of  God  to  mankind  revealed  itself  to 
his  mind  with  a  clearness  hitherto  unknown ; 
so  he  began  his  speech  with  these  large-hearted 
words — "  Of  a  truth  I  perceive  that  God  is  no 
respecter  of  persons;  but  in  every  nation,  he 
that  feareth  Him,  and  worketh  righteousness,  is 
acceptable  to  Him."  This  indeed  was  an  old 
saying  in  Israel.     It  occurs  three  times  in  the 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  79 

Old  Testament*  But,  though  the  Apostle 
probably  knew  it  in  the  letter,  for  he  was 
versed  in  the  Scriptures,  he  had  never  till  now 
felt  the  force  of  this  assertion  of  Divine  im- 
partiality, or  seen  the  width  of  its  application. 
Although  he  had  been  so  much  with  Jesus,  and 
had  heard  Him  announce  Himself  as  the  light 
of  the  world,  St  Peter  had  not  understood  till 
now  that  even  the  best  men  of  other  nations 
were  fit  persons  in  God's  sight  to  have  the  Gos- 
pel preached  to  them  as  freely  as  it  was  preached 
to  the  Jews. 

So  soon,  however,  as  his  mind  was  cleared  of 
the  narrow  assumptions  and  prejudices  in  which 
he  had  been  reared,  the  apostle  proceeded,  with  his 
accustomed  energy  and  succinctness  of  speech, 
to  make  known  the  word  of  salvation  to  the  Gen- 
tile company  gathered  before  him.  The  de- 
finiteness  and  decision  which  marked  his  ad- 
dress were  admirably  suited  to  a  military 
audience.  He  also  showed  both  tact  and  fair- 
ness in  putting^his  statements  on  ground  which 
was  common  to  all.  At  Jerusalem  he  had 
spoken  to  Jews,  and  therefore  rested  on  the 
ground  of  the  Old  Testament,  which  they  held 

*  See  Deut.  x.  17  ;  2  Sam.  xiv.  14;  2  Chron.  xix.  7. 


8o  ST  PETER  AT  C^SAREA 

in  reverence,  referring  to  the  Law,  the  Prophets, 
and  the  Psalms.  But  at  Caesarea,  though  Cor- 
nelius himself  feared  God,  and  was  doubtless 
acquainted  with  the  Greek  version  of  the  Old 
Testament,  the  rest  of  the  company  may  not 
have  been  so  far  enlightened ;  and  in  any  case, 
the  ancient  Scriptures  were  not  to  Gentiles  what 
they  were  to  Jews.  Therefore  St  Peter  made 
no  quotation  from  the  Old  Testament,  and  ad- 
vanced no  argument  to  prove  that  Jesus  fulfilled 
the  Law  and  the  Prophets.  He  took  his  auditors 
on  ground  which  they  knew,  going  no  further 
back  than  the  preaching  of  John  the  Baptist, 
and  the  stir  which  had  arisen  about  Jesus  of 
Nazareth.  All  who  were  present  knew  some- 
thing about  the  baptism  which  John  preached 
and  the  works  which  Jesus  did. 

Such  adaptation  on  the  part  of  the  speaker 
to  the  character  of  his  audience  ought  not  to 
be  represented  as  a  sort  of  crafty  device,  incon- 
sistent with  straightforwardness.  It  is  in  har- 
mony with  common  sense,  and  must  be  practised 
if  justice  is  to  be  done  to  religious  truth.  To 
missionary  preachers,  in  particular,  it  is  indis- 
pensable. A  missionary  to  the  Jews  must 
reason  from  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  must 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  8  I 

try  to  prove  to  them  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ 
of  whom  the  prophets  wrote,  and  the  end  of  the 
law  for  righteousness  to  every  one  who  believes. 
But  if  he  turn  to  the  Gentiles,  he  must  remember 
that  the  heathen  know  nothing  of  Moses  and 
the  prophets,  and  that  questions  which  mean  a 
great  deal  for  those  of  the  circumcision  may 
mean  scarcely  anything  for  those  of  the  uncir- 
cumcision.  Questions  therefore  of  Old  Testa- 
ment interpretation  ought  not  to  be  obtruded 
on  the  Gentile  mind.  The  woe  of  the  heathen  is 
that  they  have  succumbed  to  the  power  of  Satan, 
the  ruler  of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  and  so  are 
under  a  dominion  of  injustice  and  cruelty — their 
very  gods  being  vile.  To  them  it  is  not  of  much 
consequence  to  learn  how  the  Gospel  is  related 
to  "Moses'  law."  What  they  need  is  to  hear 
of  One  who  has  come  "  to  destroy  the  works  of 
the  devil,"  and  to  transfer  men  "  from  darkness 
into  marvellous  light " — a  Redeemer  for  all  na- 
tions, a  living  Saviour,  and  a  righteous  Judge. 

This  wise  principle  of  adaptation  shows  itself 
clearly  in  the  train  of  thought  which  St  Peter 
followed  at  Caesarea.  His  speech  falls  into 
three  parts. 

I  A  rehearsal  of  facts  of  which  the  audience  was 

F 


82  ST  PETER  AT  C^SAREA 

already  cognisant  (vv.  36-39). — Though  Jesus 
had  never  visited  that  Gentile  town,  dwellers  in 
Csesarea  could  not  be  unaware  of  the  fame 
which  had  gathered  round  Him  in  Palestine, 
and  of  the  shameful  death  inflicted  on  Him  at 
Jerusalem.  The  fact  that  He  had  been  charged 
in  His  life-time  with  disaffection  to  the  Roman 
government,  had  been  accused  before  Pontius 
Pilate  of  high  treason  against  Caesar,  and  had 
been  crucified  as  King  of  the  Jews,  must  have 
especially  attracted  the  notice  of  military  men 
responsible  for  the  peace  of  the  country. 

St  Peter  affirmed  that  this  Jesus  was  no  re- 
volutionary agitator,  but  a  preacher  of  good 
tidings  of  peace  sent  by  God  to  His  people, 
Israel ;  though,  as  the  apostle  happily  observed 
in  a  parenthesis.  He  was  Lord,  not  of  Israel 
only,  but  of  all  mankind.  He  did  not  touch 
the  imperial  rights  of  Caesar,  and  yet  at  the 
same  time  He  was  far  above  all  the  Caesars — 
He  was  Lord  of  all. 

The  word  and  authority  of  Jesus  had  been 
attested  by  good  deeds  and  works  of  healing ; 
and  these  again  were  accounted  for  on  this 
ground,  that  God,  who  had  sent  Him,  was 
with    Him,   and  anointed  Him  with  the  Holy 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  S^ 

Ghost  and  with  power.  If  there  was  any  hesi- 
tation to  believe  this,  Simon  Peter  and  his 
companions  were  ready  with  personal  testimony 
— "We  are  witnesses  of  all  things  which  He  did 
both  in  the  country  of  the  Jews,  and  in  Jerusa- 
lem." The  apostle  and  those  who  had  come  with 
him  from  Joppa  would  not  object  to  be  strictly 
interrogated  and  cross-examined  on  the  facts ; 
and  although  the  speech  was  not  interrupted  by 
any  question,  we  can  well  suppose  that  in  the 
time  ("  certain  days,"  ver.  48)  which  he  spent  at 
Caesarea,  St  Peter  told  many  an  incident  which 
his  own  eyes  had  seen  in  his  Master's  career: 
how  He  had  raised  his  own  mother-in-law  from 
a  bed  of  fever,  and  Lazarus  from  the  tomb,  and 
opened  the  eyes  of  Bartimeus,  and  walked  upon 
the  sea. 

Such  a  prophet,  such  a  healer,  the  Jews  had 
slain,  hanging  Him  on  a  tree.  The  fact  was 
already  known  to  Cornelius  and  his  friends; 
but  the  apostle  saw  fit  to  lay  emphasis  on  the 
entire  innocence  of  Jesus.  He  did  so  in  order  to 
remove  any  impression  which  may,  very  natur- 
ally, have  lurked  in  the  minds  of  an  Italian 
officer  and  his  comrades,  that  One  whom  the 
Roman    governor   had   sentenced,   and   whom 


84  ST  PETER  AT  C^SAREA 

Roman  soldiers  had  scourged  and  crucified, 
must  have,  in  some  measure,  deserved  His  fate. 
It  was  not  so.  In  this  case  the  Roman  author- 
ities had  taken  an  unworthy  course,  and  served 
the  cruel  malice  of  the  Jews. 

11.  The  announcement  of  a  new  fact,  zvhich 
changed  the  luhole  aspect  of  the  case  (vers.  40,  41). 
— God  had  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  on 
the  third  day. 

No  allusion  to  the  i6th  or  11 8th  Psalm  meets 
us  here.  Quotations  from  these  sacred  odes 
were  for  a  Jewish,  not  a  Gentile,  audience.  It 
would  not  have  greatly  moved  those  Roman 
soldiers  to  learn  that  a  Hebrew  poet  in  a  re- 
mote age  had  sung  of  One  who,  though  dead, 
should  not  remain  in  Hades.  What  they  cared 
for  was  sufficient  proof  that  in  their  own  time 
and  in  the  very  country  in  which  they  were 
stationed,  a  crucified  man  was  raised  from  the 
dead  :  and  the  apostle  adduced  the  proof  with 
an  exactness  admirably  suited  to  the  occasion. 
He  said,  not  that  his  Master  was  seen  to  rise, 
but  that  he  was  seen  after  He  had  risen.  He 
said,  not  that  He  was  seen  by  as  many  as  saw 
Him  crucified — for  the  Christ-rejecting  Jewswere 
to  see  Him  no  more  till  He  should  come  in  the 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  85 

clouds  of  heaven — but  that  He  was  seen  by 
witnesses,  sufficient  in  number  and  unimpeach- 
able in  character,  whom  God  had  previously- 
chosen  to  this  high  privilege. 

It  may  well  be  asked  in  what  way  any  his- 
torical fact  of  an  unusual  nature  can  be  more 
sufficiently  proved.  As  we  have  said  in  a 
former  chapter,  if  any  allege  that  not  even  God 
can  raise  the  dead,  we  have  with  such  persons 
no  argument  here.  Bnt  grant  that  the  thing  is 
possible  with  God,  and  then  say  what  conditions 
of  evidence  would  satisfy  the  mind,  that  the 
thing  had  actually  happened.  All  mankind 
could  not  be  present  to  see  with  their  own  eyes, 
so  that  it  is  a  question  of  sufficient  evidence. 
The  following  would  be  reasonable  condi- 
tions : — 

(i.)  The  witnesses  must  be  more  than  one  or 
two  in  number.  The  evidence  of  a  very  small 
number  might  be  suspected  of  collusion. 

(2.)  They  must  be  men  of  good  character, 
not  open  to  a  charge  of  wilful  deceit. 

(3.)  They  must  have  been  well  acquainted 
with  the  person  of  Him  regarding  whom  they 
testified,  so  that  they  could  not  have  been  mis- 
taken as  to  His  identity. 


S6  ST  PETER  AT  C.ESAREA 

(4.)  They  must  have  had  sufficient  oppor- 
tunity or  opportunities  for  the  recognition. 
One  or  even  two  occasions  would  hardly 
suffice  to  obviate  all  doubt. 

(5.)  They  must  have  told  their  story  at  once, 
and  not  brought  it  out  when  some  interval  of 
time  had  passed,  or  as  an  after-thought. 

(6.)  They  must  have  adhered  to  their  story  at 
all  risks,  and  without  any  grave  incoherence  or 
contradiction  among  themselves. 

Now,  all  these  conditions  are  met  in  the  evi- 
dence for  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

(i.)  The  witnesses  were  sufficiently  numerous — 
men  and  women,  apostles  and  less  prominent 
disciples  ;  one  at  a  time,  then  two,  then  eleven, 
then  seven,  then  "five  hundred  brethren  at 
once." 

(2.)  They  were  of  unblemished  character. 
The  one  deceiver  had  dropped  out  of  the 
apostolic  band  before  the  crucifixion.  The 
rulers  of  the  Jews  despised  the  rest  as  un- 
learned men,  but  could  never  make  out  any 
charge  of  deceit.  One  of  them,  James  the  Less, 
was  honoured  of  all  classes  in  Jerusalem  for  his 
high  probity,  and  was  known  as  "  the  Just." 

(3.)  They  were  intimate  with  Jesus  Christ — 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  Sy 

had  been  His  close  companions,  and  could  not 
have  mistaken  any  other  for  Him. 

(4.)  They  had  ample  opportunity  to  identify 
Him ;  for  they  not  only  saw  and  heard  Him, 
but  ''  did  eat  and  drink  with  Him  after  He  rose 
from  the  dead." 

(5.)  They  told  the  story  from  the  beginning, 
and  at  the  greatest  possible  risk  to  themselves 
They  laid  on  it  at  once  the  whole  weight  of  the 
sacred  cause  which  they  maintained.  Joyfully 
they  accepted  the  position  that,  if  the  resurrec- 
tion were  true,  the  Church  was  to  succeed ;  if 
it  was  a  lie  or  an  illusion,  the  Church  would  fail. 

(6.)  They  adhered  to  this  testimony  till  their 
last  breath ;  and  not  one  of  all  these  witnesses 
could  ever  be  induced  to  retract  or  even  modify 
the  statement  that  the  Lord  had  risen. 

We  know  that  to  believe  in  the  resurrection 
of  our  Saviour  is  difficult  for  those  who  are  re- 
luctant to  accept  the  consequences  which  flow 
from  it ;  but  we  must  maintain  that,  on  any  fair 
grounds  of  estimating  the  evidence  for  a  long 
past  historical  fact,  it  is  a  hundred  times  more 
rational  to  believe  than  to  disbelieve  it. 

III.  ^  statement  of  the  power  and  glory  of  the 
Risen  Jesus  (vers.  42,  43). 


SS  ST  PETER  AT  C^SAREA 

I.  "  This  is  He  who  is  ordained  of  God  to  be 
Judge  of  the  living  and  the  dead."  Jesus  Him- 
self had  charged  His  apostles  to  make  this 
known  to  the  people. 

St  Peter  had  touched  on  this  at  Jerusalem, 
when  he  spoke  of  the  second  coming  of  Jesus, 
and  the  "  time  of  restitution  of  all  things."  So 
he  put  it  when  addressing  Jews,  and  confining 
his  thoughts  to  the  sphere  of  Jewish  expecta- 
tion. But  now  he  stated  it  in  the  way  most 
suited  to  impress  Gentiles,  as  did  St  Paul  after- 
wards at  Athens.  This  Man  who  had  been 
raised  from  the  dead,  and  who,  though  unseen, 
was  now  "  Lord  of  all,"  was  ordained  to  be  the 
Judge  of  all,  both  the  living  and  the  dead. 

There  was  a  special  fitness  in  the  first 
announcement  of  this  to  Gentiles  being  made 
to  a  Roman  officer,  his  kinsmen  and  friends. 
The  great  functions  of  the  Romans  in  the  world 
at  that  period  were  those  of  conquest,  govern- 
ment, and  judgment.  They  were  the  men  of 
the  sword,  the  sceptre,  and  the  judgment-seat. 
Their  master,  the  Emperor,  looked  round  the 
world,  and  was  looked  up  to  by  the  world,  as 
Lord  of  all.  And  he,  too,  was  Judge  of  all,  for 
appeals  went  up  from  all  regions  of  the  known 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  89 

world  to  the  supreme  throne  of  judgment  at 
Rome.  The  Apostle  Peter  had  a  startling  state- 
ment to  make  to  those  men  of  the  Italian  band, — 
a  quite  new  doctrine  of  supremacy,  which  in- 
volved no  treason  against  Caesar,  and  yet  made 
the  Emperor's  glory  weak  and  pale.  It  was 
that  the  one  living  and  true  God  had  ordained 
a  Conqueror,  Ruler,  and  Judge  of  all,  even  of 
Cassar ;  and  given  to  Him  authority  to  summon 
before  Him  all  the  dwellers  on  the  earth,  and 
even  to  call  generations  of  men  from  their 
graves  to  stand  before  His  judgment-seat.  The 
most  abject  flatterers  of  the  Roman  emperors 
had  never  ascribed  to  them  such  power  as 
this. 

2.  "  Through  His  name  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth  on  Him  shall  receive  remission  of  sins." 
As  in  his  speeches  to  the  people  at  Jerusalem, 
so  here  again  the  apostle  was  careful  to  pro- 
claim free  pardon  in  Christ,  for  he  knew  that  it 
w^as  needed  by  Gentiles  quite  as  much  by  Jews. 
It  came  in  well  after  the  announcement  of  the 
Judge.  He  who  will  be  the  Judge  is  now  the 
Saviour  ;  and,  through  faith  in  His  name,  sinful 
men  are  now  purged  from  that  which  would 
otherwise  involve  their  future  condemnation. 


90  ST  PETER  AT  CyESAREA 

To  this  truth  regarding  remission  of  sins,  St 
Peter  said  that  all  the  prophets  were  bearing 
witness.  One  is  surprised  to  find  that  even 
meritorious  commentators  have  assumed  that 
the  reference  is  to  the  prophets  of  the  Old 
Testament,  and  have  cited  as  a  parallel  passage 
St  Peter's  statement  in  Solomon's  Porch — "  All 
the  prophets  from  Samuel  and  them  that  fol- 
lowed after,  told  of  these  days."  But  surely  this 
is  quite  a  mistake,  (i.)  The  statement  of  the 
apostle  was  not  that  the  prophets  have  told  or 
testified,  but  that  they  are  bearing  witness.  He 
pointed  to  living  witnesses  like  the  apostles 
themselves.  (2.)  A  quotation  from  a  speech  to 
Jews  is  no  true  parallel  to  an  expression  used  in 
addressing  a  Gentile  company.  In  the  former 
case  it  was  an  apposite  and  weighty  considera- 
tion that  the  Hebrew  prophets  after  Samuel  had 
foretold  these  days ;  but  it  would  have  had  no 
such  significance  for  Roman  soldiers  or  their 
friends  at  Caesarea.  Now  we  have  seen  that  St 
Peter  skilfully  adapted  his  argument  to  his 
audience.  In  the  present  speech  he  did  not 
need  or  wish  to  go  further  back  than  to  the 
ministry  of  John  the  Baptist.  We  conclude 
that  in  his  last  sentence  he  pointed  to  the  pro- 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  91 

phets  of  the  new  age  who  had  begun,  in  con- 
currence with  the  apostles,  to  utter  the  good 
tidings  from  God  regarding  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
power  of  the  Spirit.  In  his  view,  the  day  of 
Pentecost  had  ushered  in  a  new  era  of  spiritual 
communication  and  prophetic  fervour,  as  fore- 
told in  the  ancient  oracle  of  Joel.  And  all  the 
prophets  of  this  new  time  agreed  in  this,  that 
there  was  free  remission  of  sins  through  faith  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

Does  any  one  consider  our  explanation  too 
hypothetical,  and  even  far-fetched  ?  Does  any 
one  object  that  there  has  been  no  mention 
as  yet  of  any  New  Testament  prophets  ? 
Our  answer  is  this.  As  yet,  in  this  book  of 
Scripture,  we  have  found  only  the  words  of 
Peter,  or  of  Peter  and  John  among  the 
apostles,  yet  we  believe  that  all  the  apostles 
were  giving  testimony,  and  the  instances  of  the 
deacons  Stephen  and  Philip  shew  that  the  wit- 
ness to  Christ  was  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
Twelve.  And  if  we  have  not  till  now  read  of 
prophets  as  associated  with  apostles,  we  soon 
do  so.  St  Paul  has  told  us  that  "  God  set  some 
in  the  Church,  first  apostles,  secondly  prophets;  ' 
that  "we  are  built  on  the  foundation  of  the 
apostles   and   prophets;"    and   that  the   Lord 


92  ST  PETER  AT  C^SAREA 

Jesus  in  bestowing  gifts,  "gave  some  apostles, 
and  some  prophets."*  Keeping  these  state- 
ments in  mind,  we  surely  give  the  most  natural 
interpretation  when  we  take  St  Peter  to  refer  to 
prophets  who,  with  new  ardour  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,  were  already  testifying  to  the  sin-can- 
celling power  of  Jesus.  Indeed,  we  need  not 
go  so  far  as  to  the  Epistles  for  proof  that  such 
prophets  existed.  The  next  chapter  of  this  his- 
tory relates  that  "in  those  days  there  came  down 
prophets  from  Jerusalem  unto  Antioch  ;''  and 
again,  "  There  were  at  Antioch  in  the  Church 
prophets  and  teachers."  *[* 

As  in  music  one  does  well  to  end  on  a  full 
clear  note,  so  the  apostolic  preacher  did  well  to 
close  with  this  abundant  testimony  to  the  bles- 
sing of  forgiveness  through  Jesus  Christ.  Good 
news  to  the  Gentiles  !  It  was  such  an  assurance 
as  none  of  their  prophets,  priests,  or  philosophers 
could  give.  And  then  this  blessing  was  to  be 
obtained  on  so  simple  a  plan  as  this — faith  in 
His  name.  Of  the  Jews  St  Peter  had  required 
repentance  in  order  to  pardon,  because  they  had 
rejected  the  Prince  of  Life.     But  to  these  Gen- 

*  I  Cor.  xii.  28;  Eph.  ii.  20  j  iv.  11. 
t  Acts  xi.  27  ;  xiii.  i. 


TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY.  93 

tiles  the  Saviour  had  not  "  come,"  or  manifested 
Himself,  as  to  the  House  of  Israel.  They  had 
not  refused  Him  as  the  Jews  had  done,  for  He 
had  never  been  presented  or  preached  to  them 
as  One  who  had  a  claim  on  their  religious  con- 
fidence and  homage — the  Saviour  of  the  world 
and  the  Lord  of  all.  Therefore  St  Peter  set  the 
claim  of  Christ  before  the  Gentiles  at  Csesarea, 
and  called  on  them  to  believe. 

Indeed,  he  had  not  time  to  call  on  them  to 
believe,  for  he  was  gloriously  interrupted  in  his 
address.  It  is  likely  enough  that  having  stated 
the  blessing  of  pardon  that  would  ensue  on 
faith,  the  apostle  meant  to  add  words  of  direct 
exhortation  and  appeal ;  but  if  so,  he  found  it 
superfluous  to  do  so.  Soon  as  the  good  tidings 
of  pardon  fell  from  his  lips,  the  audience  was 
suffused  with  spiritual  tenderness — "  The  Holy 
Ghost  fell  on  all  of  them." 

What  then  ensued  it  will  be  convenient  to 
consider  when  we  examine  the  apostle's  speech 
at  Jerusalem,  narrating  the  result,  and  justifying 
his  course  of  action.  Meanwhile  we  have 
learned  enough  to  show  what  power  resides  in 
one  short,  clear  sermon  on  Jesus  Christ,  when 
God  has  prepared  both  preacher  and  congrega- 


94        ST  PETER  TO  A  GENTILE  COMPANY. 

tion,  and  all  things  are  ready.  A  hearty 
straightforward  preacher,  brethren  with  him 
who  are  in  prayerful  sympathy,  and  an  audi- 
ence penetrated  by  the  feeling  that  they  are  all 
assembled  "  before  God  " — what  may  not  such 
a  combination  secure  of  spiritual  light  and  joy! 
That  day  at  Caesarea  was  the  Pentecost  of  the 
Gentiles.  On  them,  as  formerly  on  Jews,  "  was 
poured  out  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  is 
inaccurate  to  pray  for  another  Pentecost  in 
modern  times,  because  the  dispensation  of  the 
Spirit  has  begun,  and  cannot  begin  again.  But 
it  is  a  constant  duty  to  pray  that  the  Spirit  may 
continue  to  demonstrate  to  the  hearts  of  men 
that  word  of  salvation  which  is  preached  in 
Christendom,  and  that  beyond  the  bounds  of 
Christendom,  where  the  word  is  only  now  begin- 
ning to  be  preached,  the  Holy  Ghost  may  fall 
on  the  people,  and  God  may  grant  to  them 
also  ''  repentance  unto  life." 


VI. 

ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS  AT 
JERUSALEM. 

"  But  Peter  began,  and  expounded  the  matter  unto  them  in 
order,  saying,  I  was  in  the  city  of  Joppa  praying :  and  in  a 
trance  I  saw  a  vision,  a  certain  vessel  descending,  as  it  were  a 
great  sheet  let  down  from  heaven  by  four  corners ;  and  it  came 
even  unto  me  :  upon  the  which  when  I  had  fastened  mine  eyes, 
I  considered,  and  saw  the  fourfooted  beasts  of  the  earth  and 
wild  beasts  and  creeping  things  and  fowls  of  the  heaven.  And 
I  heard  also  a  voice  saying  unto  me.  Rise,  Peter ;  kill  and  eat. 
But  I  said,  Not  so,  Lord  :  for  nothing  common  or  unclean  hath 
ever  entered  into  my  mouth.  But  a  voice  answered  the  second 
time  out  of  heaven.  What  God  hath  cleansed,  make  not  thou 
common.  And  this  was  done  thrice :  and  all  were  drawn  up 
again  into  heaven.  And  behold,  forthwith  three  men  stood 
before  the  house  in  which  we  were,  having  been  sent  from 
Csesarea  unto  me.  And  the  Spirit  bade  me  go  with  them, 
making  no  distinction.  And  these  six  brethren  also  accom- 
panied me  ;  and  we  entered  into  the  man's  house  :  and  he  told 
us  how  he  had  seen  the  angel  standing  in  his  house,  and  saying, 
Send  to  Joppa,  and  fetch  Simon,  whose  surname  is  Peter  ;  who 
shall  speak  unto  thee  words,  whereby  thou  shalt  be  saved,  thou 
and  all  thy  house.  And  as  I  began  to  speak,  the  Holy  Ghost 
fell  on  them,  even  as  on  us  at  the  beginning.  And  I  remem- 
bered  the  word  of  the  Lord,  how  that  he  said,  John  indeed 
baptised  with  water ;  but  ye  shall  be  baptised  with  the  Holy 


96  ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS 

Ghost.  If  then  God  gave  unto  them  the  like  gift  as  he  did 
also  unto  us,  when  we  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
was  I,  that  I  could  withstand  God?"— Acts  xi.  4-17. 

THIS  differs  from  the  previous  speeches  of 
the  same  apostle  (except  the  first),  in 
being  addressed  to  those  within  the  Church,  not 
to  those  without.  It  is  not  an  appeal  to  men  to 
become  Christians,  but  an  explanation  to  men 
who  already  were  Christians,  of  a  fresh  course 
of  action  taken  in  the  service  of  Christ. 

While  St  Peter  tarried  a  few  days  at  Caesarea 
at  the  request  of  the  new  Gentile  converts,  the 
apostles  and  brethren  in  and  near  Jerusalem 
heard  with  surprise  of  this  unexpected  victory 
of  the  Gospel,  and  eagerly  waited  the  return  of 
their  leader  to  the  capital.  He,  on  his  part, 
was  well  aware  of  the  necessity  for  accurately 
reporting  and  fully  explaining  what  had  occurred 
to  his  colleagues  and  friends  at  headquarters ; 
and  therefore  he  did  not  return  to  Joppa,  but 
went  straight  up  from  Caesarea  to  Jerusalem. 
With  excellent  judgment  he  took  with  him  the 
six  Jewish  Christians  from  Joppa  who  had  wit- 
nessed the  glorious  scene  in  the  house  of  Cor- 
nelius, and  had,  under  the  apostle's  direction, 
baptised  the  believing  Gentiles.     These  could 


AT  JERUSALEM.  97 

corroborate  his  story,  and  testify  that  he  had 
not  acted  from  self-will,  but  had  followed  clear 
indications  of  the  Lord's  good  pleasure. 

Not  all  the  apostles  and  brethren  at  Jeru- 
salem, but  a  certain  number  of  the  Christians 
there,  being  especially  jealous  for  the  honour 
of  Jewish  separation  from  other  races  of  men, 
were  dissatisfied  with  Simon  Peter's  course  at 
Caesarea,  and  showed  it  openly.  "They  that 
were  of  the  circumcision  contended  with  him." 
It  is  very  significant  of  their  state  of  mind  that, 
so  far  as  appears,  they  made  no  observation  on 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  to  those  Gen- 
tiles, or  even  on  their  having  been  baptised ; 
but  complained  of  a  circumcised  man  having 
had  social  intercourse  with  the  uncircumcised 
— "  Thou  wentest  in  to  men  uncircumcised, 
and  didst  eat  with  them."  Those  who  took 
umbrage  at  this  were  Christians  in  this  sense, 
that  they  acknowledged  Jesus  as  the  Christ  of 
Israel ;  but  their  thoughts  still  ran  in  narrow 
grooves  of  Jewish  exclusiveness,  and  they  had 
not  caught  the  great  Christian  sentiment  of 
love  to  the  world.  So  they  were  displeased 
that  an  apostle  had  broken  a  tradition  of  strict 
Judaism,  and    probably  assumed  that  he  had 

G 


98  ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS 

presumptuously    violated    the    Mosaic    law    of 
clean  and  unclean  meats. 

Such  a  condition  of  mind  we  probably  regard 
with  a  little  wonder  and  pity ;  and  yet  some- 
thing very  like  it  is  far  too  common  in  our 
modern  Christendom.  Who  has  not  seen  in- 
stances of  a  Christian  faith  miserably  united 
with  small-minded  prejudices,  and  a  hot  zeal 
for  narrow  rules  and  restrictions  ?  And  what 
can  be  more  trying  to  the  patience  of  those 
who,  like  St  Peter,  have  reached  some  larger 
vision  of  the  impartiality  and  mercy  of  God  ? 
And  this  also  we  see  everywhere  and  always. 
Narrowness  of  sympathy  goes  with  dulness  of 
perception.  Those  Jews  who  were  keen  for 
maintaining  every  sign  of  separation  between 
themselves  and  the  Gentiles,  could  not  see  in 
what  had  occurred  at  Caesarea  anything  more 
important  than  the  question  whether  Simon 
Peter  did  well  or  ill  in  sitting  at  table  with  the 
uncircumcised,  discovered  nothing  worthy  of 
their  attention  or  thanksgiving  in  the  belief  of 
the  Gospel  by  the  Gentiles,  or  their  having  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Ghost.  So  it  is  in  the  modern 
Church.  The  more  that  men  make  of  external 
regulation  and    restriction  in  our  religion,  the 


AT  JERUSALEM.  99 

more  do  they  incapacitate  their  minds  for  per- 
ceiving and  appreciating  what  is  more  spiritual, 
essential,  and  permanent. 

"  But  Peter  began  and  expounded  the  matter 
to  them  in  order."  What  he  did  and  said  on 
the  occasion  suggests  to  us  as  follows — 

I.  The  position  taken  by  even  the  leading 
Apostle  in  the  primitive  CJinrch. — The  name  of 
Simon  Peter  has  been  used  for  many  centuries 
to  cover  the  exorbitant  claim  of  supremacy  over 
the  whole  Church  advanced  by  the  Bishop  of 
Rome.  We,  of  course,  do  not  admit,  even 
if  St  Peter  had  exercised  such  supremacy, 
that  it  would  involve  the  transmission  of 
that  supremacy  to  the  Bishops  of  Rome  in 
lineal  succession.  But,  for  the  moment,  let 
us  waive  this  serious  demurrer,  and  observe 
the  actual  bearing  of  St  Peter  in  an  assem- 
bly of  Christian  brethren.  They  were  not 
afraid  to  "contend  with  him;"  and  he  made 
no  attempt  to  put  the  objectors  to  silence  by 
dint  of  authority,  but  patiently  explained  his 
course  of  action  till  he  won  a  verdict  of  ap- 
proval. Is  it  not  plain  that  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  Popedom  known  to  St  Peter  t  There 
was   not   even    oligarchic   government   by   the 


lOO       ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS 

College  of  Apostles.  The  Church  had  leaders 
and  guides — apostles,  prophets,  evangelists,  pas- 
tors, and  teachers ;  but  the  wisdom  of  Christ, 
the  living  Head,  was  imparted  to  the  whole 
body,  not  to  a  few  conspicuous  members  only, 
that  they  might  dictate  to  all  the  rest.  An 
able  writer  has  remarked  on  this  passage : — "  If 
any  man  might  have  carried  matters  within  the 
Church  with  a  high  hand,  surely  it  was  this 
Rock-Man  to  whom  Jesus  had  given  the  key ; 
and  if  ever  he  had  an  excuse  for  being  peremp- 
tory or  self-assertive,  it  was  at  the  moment  when, 
led  by  the  voice  of  his  Master,  he  had  just  set 
open  to  the  whole  heathen  world  the  gates  of 
the  kingdom  of  God.  Yet  to  his  brethren, 
even  to  brethren  whose  tone  was  unpleasant 
and*disputatious,  he  felt  bound  to  offer  a  most 
careful  explanation,  to  fortify  his  statement  by 
the  evidence  of  witnesses,  and  to  appeal  to  their 
own  reason  in  justification  of  his  conduct."  * 

It  is  not  well  that  any  one  whatever  in  the 
Church  of  God  should  reckon  himself  above 
question  or  challenge  from  the  brethren.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  they  may  find  fault  through 
ignorance,  knowing   only   in    part   when    they 

*  "From  Jerusalem  to  AnLioch,"  by  Dr  Oswald  Dykes,  p.  393. 


AT  JERUSALEM.  lOI 

assume  that  they  know  all ;  but,  in  such  a  case, 
the  servant  of  the  Lord  must  learn  of  St  Peter 
not  to  give  way  to  any  natural  feeling  of  irrita- 
tion, but  calmly  explain  to  such  brethren  what 
they  have  misunderstood.  Cases,  unhappily, 
will  occur  in  which  fault  is  found  peevishly  and 
even  with  a  touch  of  malice.  So  much  the 
worse  for  the  censorious  critics  ;  but  the  servant 
of  the  Lord  must  not  strive,  or  repay  bitter 
words  with  bitter.  Let  him  tell  the  unvar- 
nished truth  to  all  who  will  listen,  and  leave  it 
to  the  heavenly  Master  to  vindicate  him  from 
unmerited  reproach. 

n.  The  best  way  to  remove  mistmderstandings 
among  brethren, — Nine-tenths  of  the  fault-find- 
ing among  Christians  come  of  defective  informa- 
tion. We  see  that  those  zealous  Jewish  Chris- 
tians who  blamed  St  Peter  knew  but  very  par- 
tially what  his  conduct  had  been,  and  knew  not 
at  all  the  reasons  for  his  conduct.  They  heard 
that  he  had  been  living  among  Gentiles,  but 
appear  to  have  heard  nothing  of  the  vision  at 
Joppa,  and  the  intimation  of  the  Lord's  will 
which  had  been  made  to  the  apostle  in  the 
Spirit,  and  nothing  of  the  vision  which  Cor- 
nelius had  seen,  or  of  the  spiritual  results  which 


102       ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS 

had  ensued  on  the  preaching  of  Christ  to  the 
company  gathered  together  in  the  centurion's 
house.  It  was  rash  and  unreasonable  on  their 
part  to  ascribe  fault  to  a  man  in  St  Peter's 
responsible  position  before  they  had  a  detailed' 
report ;  and  they  certainly  laid  themselves  open 
to  a  sharp  reproof.  But  the  apostle  refrained 
from  rebuke,  did  not  even  make  complaint. 
He  wished  not  to  excite  their  prejudice  or 
irritate  their  national  pride  any  further,  but  to 
conciliate  their  better  judgment,  and  preserve 
peace  in  the  Church.  Therefore  he  was  con- 
tent to  reply  to  their  disputes  by  a  simple 
straightforward  narrative.  The  facts  of  the 
case  were  strong  enough,  and  needed  only  to 
be  fully  related  in  order  to  turn  the  whole  cur- 
rent of  opinion  and  feeling  in  the  apostle's 
favour,  and  change  the  unseemly  dispute  into 
unanimous  doxology. 

This,  too,  conveys  a  most  valuable  lesson  to 
those  who,  serving  Christ  in  some  public  capa- 
city, find  their  course  of  action  called  into 
question.  In  a  large  proportion  of  cases  it 
will  be  found  that  fault-finders  proceed  on  most 
partial  and  inaccurate  information ;  and,  by 
doing  so,  they  lay  themselves  open  to  severe 


AT  JERUSALEM.  IO3 

retort.  But  the  object  of  a  ser\'ant  of  the  Lord 
should  be  not  to  triumph  over  an  unreasonable 
brother,  or  put  him  to  shame,  but  to  gain  vic- 
tories for  the  truth,  put  an  end  to  mischievous 
misunderstandings,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  main- 
tain peace,  brotherly  kindness,  and  charit}'. 
Therefore  a  wise  man  will  not  be  drawn  into 
contention  in  the  Church,  if  he  can  with  a  good 
conscience  avoid  it,  will  show  no  thirst  for 
battle,  but  will  meet  even  provoking  fault- 
finders with  candid  and  dispassionate  state- 
ments. As  they  drop  their  solid  facts  into  the 
boiling  caldron  of  ill-informed  disputation,  the 
noisy  bubbling  gradually  ceases,  and  excited 
feehngs  grow  wonderfully  cool  and  calm. 

III.  TJie  most  effective  answer  to  sticklers  on 
poiftts  of  order. — St  Peter  did  not  enter  into  an 
argument  with  the  dissatisfied  brethren  upon 
the  permanence  of  those  restrictions  which  had 
for  so  many  generations  separated  the  Jews 
from  the  Gentiles.  He  was  himself  scarcely 
prepared  for  such  an  argument,  though  a  new 
light  on  the  subject  had  been  cast  into  his  mind 
by  the  vision  on  the  house-top  at  Joppa,  No 
such  light,  however,  had  fallen  on  those  brethren 
at  Jerusalem  ;  and  it  would  have  been  worse 


104       ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS 

than  useless  to  argue  and  debate.  St  Peter  took 
the  brethren  on  ground  which  no  Christian 
could  call  in  question.  Whatever  the  outward 
rites  and  rules  connected  with  religion,  they 
were  of  less  value  than  the  inward  and  spiritual 
blessing.  Now  the  fact  which  he  and  his  six 
companions  from  Joppa  were  there  to  narrate 
and  attest  was  this  : — that  as  the  word  of  life 
was  being  preached  to  the  Gentile  company,  the 
Holy  Ghost  fell  on  them,  just  as  on  the  Jewish 
multitude  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.  Did  not 
that  one  momentous  fact  settle  all  questions, 
overcome  all  misgivings  >  Since  God  had  be- 
stowed the  best  blessing  from  heaven,  what 
was  the  use  of  setting  up  traditional  scruples 
as  to  the  fitness  of  the  persons  on  whom  the 
blessing  had  descended  ;  or  why  should  a  diffi- 
culty be  raised  about  forms  and  conditions 
which  God  in  His  sovereign  pleasure  had  thus 
put  aside  ?  "  If  then  God  gave  unto  them  the 
like  gift  as  He  did  also  unto  us  when  we 
believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  am  I, 
that  I  could  withstand  God  }  " 

This  way  of  handling  a  difficulty  seems  to  us 
to  make  short  work  with  many  Church  contro- 
versies  about   holy   orders,  correct   ritual,  and 


AT  JERUSALEM.  IO5 

the  like.  We  admit  the  presumption  in  favour 
of  traditional  and  orderly  usages.  We  would 
not  ourselves  willingly  belong  to  any  Church 
that  had  not,  in  our  judgment,  a  primitive 
constitution,  an  orderly  ministry,  and  a  ritual 
in  harmony  with  the  New  Testament.  But 
we  cannot  deny,  and  do  not  wish  to  deny, 
that  Churches  which  seem  to  us  far  less  cor- 
rectly constituted  and  administered  have  re- 
ceived the  Divine  blessing.  In  ways  that  we 
consider  exceptional,  and  through  the  labours 
of  persons  not  in  holy  orders,  or  whose  ordina- 
tion has  but  an  uncertain  validity,  and  whose 
right  to  administer  Christian  ordinances  and 
preside  over  Christian  fellowship  is  at  least 
open  to  serious  question,  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands have  been  converted  from  sin  to  right- 
eousness, and  have  lived  and  died  to  the  Lord. 
This  seems  to  us  to  be  matter  of  fact,  which 
only  a  desperate  bigotry  can  ignore.  How  is  it 
to  be  thought  of  or  accounted  for .?  It  must  be 
a  sore  puzzle  to  those  who  consider  a  ministry 
or  priesthood  derived  from  prelates  in  a  line  of 
ordination  which  they  are  pleased  to  call  apos- 
tolic succession,  and  the  reception  of  sacra- 
ments from  such  authentic  priests,  essential  to 


I06       ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS 

the  communication  of  Divine  grace.  But  it  is 
no  puzzle  at  all  to  those  who  have  a  larger 
estimate  of  the  ways  of  God  in  saving  the 
children  of  men.  His  blessing  has  never  been 
tied  to  forms,  or  the  conveyance  of  it  made  a 
perquisite  of  those  who  are  in  a  particular  line 
of  "  orders."  To  think  so  is  to  shut  one's  eyes 
to  broad  historical  facts.  Surely,  when  we  see 
that  sinners  are  turned  from  their  evil  ways, 
and  that  in  believing  the  Word  they  are  made 
new  creatures — a  change  which  can  be  wrought 
by  no  less  power  than  that'of  the  Holy  Ghost — our 
simple  duty  is  to  acknowledge  the  work  of  God 
whenever  and  wherever  He  pleases  to  work,  and 
give  Him  thanks.  If,  through  any  instrument- 
ality, and  with  or  without  conditions  supposed 
by  us  to  be  necessary,  God  has  given  to  other 
men  the  like  gift  of  His  favour  as  to  us,  who 
are  we  that  we  should  withstand  God  ? 

IV.  T/ie  true  place  and  justification  of  baptism. 
— The  Gentiles  at  Caesarea  having  been  bap- 
tised with  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  was  impossible  to 
deny  to  them  baptism  with  water. 

Indeed  there  are  not  two  baptisms,  but  one, 
having  an  outer  form  and  inner  sense.  The 
former  requires  water,  the  latter  the  grace  of 


AT  JERUSALEM.  IO7 

the  Holy  Spirit.  Superstition  holds  that  the 
former  always  involves  the  latter,  and  therefore 
urges  people  to  be  baptised,  or  to  have  their 
infants  baptised,  in  order  that,  in  or  by  that 
rite,  they  may  receive  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  be 
made  partakers  of  Christ.  This  is  "  Christen- 
ing "  of  which  the  Bible  knows  nothing.  Faith, 
on  the  contrary,  holds,  and  primitive  usage  as 
indicated  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  shows, 
that  partakers  of  Christ  are  to  be  baptised. 
The  proper  subjects  of  the  ordinance  are  bap- 
tised, not  in  order  to  be  thereby  made  Chris- 
tians, but  because  they  are  Christians,  and 
ought  to  be  openly  recognised  and  marked  as 
such.  An  old  Scottish  divine  has  said : — "  As 
the  Israelites  were  first  brought  out  of  Egypt 
before  they  were  brought  through  the  sea,  so 
we  are  first  redeemed  by  Christ,  and  find  grace 
in  His  eyes  before  we  receive  the  seals  of  the 
covenant  of  grace.  Baptism  is  intended  only 
for  the  redeemed."  *  Another  has  distinguished 
between  the  right  to  baptism  "  in  foro  Dei,  or 
before  God,"  and  the  right  "  in  foro  ecclesicB,  or 
in  the  judgment  of  the  Church."  He  proceeds 
to  show  that  the  former  right  belongs  to  those 
*  George  Gillespie's  "  Miscellany  Questions,"  chap.  xvii. 


Io8      ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS 

only  "who  have  actually  a  saving  interest  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;"  and  the  latter  to  those 
only  who  "  appear  to  have  a  saving  interest  in 
Christ."  This  last  point  is  proved  from  the 
nature  of  the  ordinance.  "  In  baptism  there  is 
an  open  acknowledging  of  the  party  for  a 
disciple  of  Christ.  He  ought  to  be  looked  on 
as  a  servant  of  the  great  Master  before  he  get 
on  his  badge  and  wear  his  livery.  The  commis- 
sion for  baptising  runs  so,  first  to  make  disciples, 
then  to  baptise."  The  writer  is,  however,  care- 
ful to  protect  the  baptism  of  Christian  infants, 
in  these  words — "  Let  it  be  remembered  that 
we  acknowledge  infants  to  be  disciples  of 
Christ,  as  well  as  adult  persons ;  and  whatever 
is,  or  may  be  said  on  this  head,  must  be  under- 
stood de  subjecto  capaci,  and  without  prejudice 
to  the  holy  seed,  the  infants  of  the  faithful." 
He  then  confirms  his  principle  by  particular 
references  to  the  New  Testament.  "All  the 
examples  of  baptism  recorded  in  the  Scripture 
hold  forth  none  to  have  been  baptised  but  those 
that  before  baptism  appeared  to  have  a  saving 
interest  in  Christ."* 

It  is  enough  to  trace  the  dispensation  of  bap- 

*  Thomas  Boston's  "  Miscellany  Questions,"  No.  6. 


AT  JERUSALEM.  IO9 

tism  through  these  early  chapters  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles.  At  Jerusalem,  they  that  received 
the  word  of  salvation  were  baptised.  At  Samaria, 
they  that  believed  the  good  tidings  were  bap- 
tised, both  men  and  women ;  and  the  case  of 
Simon  the  Sorcerer  presents  no  real  difficulty, 
for  he  professed  and  appeared  to  have  believed. 
On  the  road  to  Gaza,  the  Ethiopian  treasurer 
first  received  Philip's  preaching  of  Jesus,  and 
then  was  baptised.  At  Damascus,  Saul  re- 
ceived his  sight  through  the  intervention  of 
Ananias,  a  disciple  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  was 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost.  Then  "he  arose, 
and  was  baptised."  In  like  manner,  at  Caesarea, 
when  the  Gentiles  believed  the  word  which  St 
Peter  preached,  and  had  received  the  gift  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  they  were  baptised.  In  every 
case  men  first  became,  or  appeared  to  become, 
Christian  disciples,  and  then  they  were  publicly 
initiated  and  acknowledged  as  such.  No  one 
could  "  forbid  water  "  for  their  baptism. 

Sometimes  the  Westminster  standards  of 
theology  are  said  to  teach  something  very  like 
baptismal  regeneration  ;  but  the  assertion  only 
reveals  confusion  of  ideas  in  those  who  make 
it.     The  words  of  the  Shorter  Catechism  are 


no      ST  PETER  TO  JEWISH  CHRISTIANS 

these — "  Baptism  is  a  sacrament  wherein  the 
washing  with  water  in  the  name  of  the  Father, 
and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  doth 
signify  and  seal  our  engrafting  into  Christ,  and 
partaking  of  the  benefits  of  the  covenant  of 
grace,  and  our  engagement  to  be  the  Lord's." 
To  convey  what  is  commonly  known  as  the 
doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration,  the  sentence 
ought  to  have  run  thus — "  The  washing  with 
water  doth  bring  about  or  effect  our  ingrafting 
into  Christ."  But  not  so.  According  to  the 
Catechism,  one  should  have  this  ingrafting  in 
order  to  baptism,  which  rite  then  signifies  or 
expresses  it,  and  also  seals  or  ratifies  it,  to  the 
comfort  and  establishment  in  faith  and  hope  of 
him  who  is  so  baptised. 

This  is  best  seen  in  the  baptism  of  adults 
making  profession  of  their  own  faith ;  for  this, 
as  every  one  admits,  is  the  normal  baptism  on 
which  the  meaning  of  that  ordinance  is  most 
clearly  inscribed.  But  it  is  on  exactly  the  same 
principle  that  we  also  baptise  "  the  infants  of 
such  as  are  members  of  the  visible  Church."  It 
is  not  to  christen  or  christianise  them,  but  to 
signify  that  they  are  by  birth  and  nurture  within, 
and  not  without,  the  pale  of  the  visible  Church. 


AT  JERUSALEM.  1  I  I 

It  may  be  said  against  this  practice  that  the 
Christianity  of  adults  is  capable  of  evidence, 
whereas  that  of  infants  is  problematical  and 
hypothetic.  But  this  does  not  amount  to  much 
in  the  argument.  An  adult  is  baptised  not  on 
his  faith,  or  even  on  proof  of  his  faith,  but  on 
profession  of  his  faith,  provided  there  be  no- 
thing in  his  conduct  to  render  the  profession  at 
the  time  incredible.  It  may  afterwards  turn 
out  to  be  mistaken  or  insincere,  as  occurred  in 
the  case  of  Simon  at  Samaria,  adverted  to 
above.  But  enough  that  the  candidate  for 
baptism  professes  to  have  the  thing  signified. 
He  is  then  entitled  to  have  the  sign.  But  who 
will  venture  to  say  that  the  child  of  a  believer, 
committed  in  prayer  to  the  Lord,  may  not  have 
the  inward  grace,  and  so  the  potential  disciple- 
ship  }  And  why,  if  capable  of  the  grace,  should 
he  be  counted  incapable  of  admission  to  the 
ordinance  which  signifies  and  seals  that  grace .? 
Why,  if  even  potentially  a  disciple,  may  he  not 
be  charitably  reckoned  and  treated  as  such  ? 

But  we  are  wandering  from  St  Peter's  speech. 
It  had,  like  all  the  other  speeches  which  we  have 
examined,  a  marked  success.      Murmurs  were 


1  t  2  ST  PETER  AT  JERUSALEM. 

stilled;  and  the  Jewish  brethren  "glorified  God, 
saying,  Then  to  the  Gentiles  also  hath  God 
granted  repentance  unto  life."  Would  that  the 
Jewish  Christians  had  all  learned  and  cherished 
this  mood  of  joyful  acquiescence  in  the  con- 
version of  the  Gentiles  !  What  contentions  and 
controversies  would  have  been  avoided  in  the 
early  Churches  !  What  trouble  might  have  been 
spared  to  the  Apostle  Paul ! 

Those  disciples  at  Jerusalem  had  a  clear  con- 
ception of  repentance  (i)  in  its  origin  as  the 
gift  of  God's  grace  ;  (2)  in  its  issue  as  "  unto 
life  " — a  turning  from  death  in  sin  to  life  in 
Jesus  Christ.  And  with  this  doctrine  of  re- 
pentance ought  "  the  fallow  ground  "  of  men's 
hearts  to  be  broken  up  in  all  times  and  all 
nations.  It  is  God's  command  to  every  man — 
"  repent!"  It  is  God's  gift — the  disposition  and 
power  as  well  as  opportunity  to  repent.  It  is 
God's  encouragement — "  repent  unto  life  !  Turn 
ye  ;  why  will  ye  die.'*" 


VII. 

ST   PAUL  AT   PISIDIAN   ANTIOCH   IX   THE 
SYNAGOGUE. 

"And  Paul  stood  up,  and  beckoning  \\-ith  the  hand  said,  Men 
of  Israel,  and  ye  that  fear  God,  hearken.  The  God  of  this 
people  Israel  chose  our  fathers,  and  exalted  the  people  when 
they  sojourned  in  the  land  of  Eg}'pt,  and  with  a  high  arm  led  he 
them  forth  out  of  it.  And  for  about  the  time  of  forty  years 
suffered  he  their  manners  in  the  wilderness.  And  when  he  had 
destroyed  seven  nations  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  he  gave  them 
their  land  for  an  inheritance,  for  about  four  hundred  and  fifty 
years  :  and  after  these  things  he  gave  them  judges  until  Samuel 
the  prophet.  And  afterward  they  asked  for  a  king  :  and  God 
gave  unto  them  Saul  the  son  of  Kish,  a  man  of  the  tribe  of  Ben- 
jamin, for  the  space  of  forty  years.  And  when  he  had  removed 
him,  he  raised  up  Da\'id  to  be  their  king  ;  to  whom  also  he  bare 
witness,  and  said,  I  have  found  Dax-id  the  son  of  Jesse,  a  man 
after  my  heart,  who  shall  do  all  my  will.  Of  this  man's  seed 
hath  God  according  to  promise  brought  unto  Israel  a  Sa^-iou^, 
Jesus  ;  when  John  had  first  preached  before  his  coming  the 
baptism  of  repentance  to  all  the  people  of  Israel.  And  as  John 
was  fulfilling  his  course,  he  said.  What  suppose  ye  that  I  am  ? 
I  am  not  he.  But  behold,  there  cometh  one  after  me,  the  shoes 
of  whose  feet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose.  Brethren,  children 
of  the  stock  of  Abraham,  and  those  among  you  that  fear  God, 
to  us  is  the  word  of  this  salvation  sent  forth.  For  they  that 
dwell  in  Jerusalem,  and  their  rulers,  because  they  knew  him  not, 
nor  the  voices  of  the  prophets  which  are  read  ever)-  sabbath, 
fulfilled  them  by  condemning  him.     And  though  they  found  no 

H 


1  I  4  ST  PAUL  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH 

cause  of  death  in  him,  yet  asked  they  of  Pilate  that  he  should  be 
slain.  And  when  they  had  fulfilled  all  things  that  were  written 
f  him,  they  took  him  down  from  the  tree,  and  laid  him  in  a 
omb.  But  God  raised  him  from  the  dead  :  and  he  was  seen  for 
many  days  of  them  that  came  up  with  him  from  Galilee  to 
Jerusalem,  who  are  now  his  witnesses  unto  the  people.  And  we 
bring  you  good  tidings  of  the  promise  made  unto  the  fathers,  how 
that  God  hath  fulfilled  the  same  unto  our  children,  in  that  he 
raised  up  Jesus  ;  as  also  it  is  written  in  the  second  psalm.  Thou 
art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten  thee.  And  as  concerning 
that  he  raised  him  up  from  the  dead,  now  no  more  to  return  to 
corruption,  he  hath  spoken  on  this  wise,  I  will  give  you  the  holy 
and  sure  blessings  of  David.  Because  he  saith  also  in  another 
psalm,  Thou  wilt  not  give  thy  Holy  One  to  see  corruption.  For 
David,  after  he  had  in  his  own  generation  served  the  counsel  of 
God,  fell  on  sleep,  and  was  laid  unto  his  fathers,  and  saw  cor- 
ruption :  but  he  whom  God  raised  up  saw  no  corruption.  Be  it 
known  unto  you  therefore,  brethren,  that  through  this  man  is 
proclaimed  unto  you  remission  of  sins  :  and  by  him  every  one 
that  believeth  is  justified  from  all  things,  from  which  ye  could 
not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses.  Beware  therefore,  lest 
that  come  upon  you,  which  is  spoken  in  the  prophets ;  Behold, 
ye  despisers,  and  wonder,  and  perish  ;  for  I  work  a  work  in 
your  days,  a  work  which  ye  shall  in  no  wise  believe,  if  one  de- 
clare it  unto  you." — Acts  xiii.  16-41. 

THE  scene  is  changed  from  Palestine  to  a 
hilly  region  in  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor, 
named  Pisidia.  A  large  and  populous  town  was 
there,  called  Antioch.  It  is  mentioned  by  both 
Ptolemy  and  Strabo,  but  would  have  been  long 
ago  quite  forgotten,  and  the  poor  ruins  of  its 
ancient  structures  left  in  obscurity,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  visit  paid  to  it  by  two  Christian 


IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE.  I  I  5 

missionaries,  and  the  record  of  that  visit  by  St 
Luke  in  the  sacred  volume. 

In  all  the  prosperous  towns  of  Asia  Minor  at 
that  period  Jews  had  settled  ;  and  in  Antioch 
there  was  a  synagogue  frequented  by  the  resi- 
dent Jews  and  some  Proselytes  of  Gentile  ex- 
traction. The  missionaries  of  whom  we  have 
spoken  were  Jews ;  and,  therefore,  when  the 
Sabbath — our  Saturday — came  round,  they  at- 
tended the  synagogue.  Their  presence  was 
observed ;  and,  after  the  usual  public  reading 
of  the  Old  Testament,  no  doubt  in  the  Greek 
version,  the  strangers  were  invited  by  the  rulers 
of  the  synagogue  to  exhort  the  congregation. 
So  again  opportunity  came  to  an  apostolic 
speaker,  and  was  not  made  or  forced  by  him. 

One  of  the  missionaries  was  Barnabas,  whose 
original  name  was  Joseph — a  Levite  by  extrac- 
tion, a  Cypriote  by  birth.  The  other  was  Saul 
or  Paul,  a  Benjamite  by  extraction,  a  Cilician 
by  birth.  It  was  the  latter  who  spoke  in  com- 
pliance with  the  invitation  given.  He  rose  from 
his  seat,  and  with  a  gesture  of  the  hand,  which 
was  characteristic  of  him,  summoned  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people. 

The  task  before  him  was  difficult.     He  had 


I  l6  ST  PAUL  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCII 

to  win  the  confidence  and  hold  the  attention  of 
an  audience  to  which  he  was  quite  unknown. 
He  had  to  keep  the  ground  of  Israel's  peculiar 
history  and  hope,  and  yet  to  show  that  at  the 
holy  city  itself  the  Messiah  had  been  rejected 
and  crucified.  But  St  Paul  (for  so  the  Church 
delights  to  call  him)  was  the  very  man  for  an 
emergency.  Difficulties  only  developed  his  re- 
sources. He  had  all  the  skill  and  deftness  of  a 
well-trained  pleader,  combined  with  all  the  fer- 
vour of  a  man  speaking  what  he  intensely 
believed.  Best  of  all,  he  had  the  consummate 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 

A  comparison  of  the  speech  which  he  pro- 
ceeded to  deliver  with  the  two  addresses  of  St 
Peter  to  the  multitude  at  Jerusalem  reveals  a 
considerable  similarity.  St  Paul  followed  the 
same  Jewish  course  of  thought,  appealing  to  old 
Hebrew  predictions  and  promises.  He  also 
published  the  same  facts  regarding  Jesus, 
especially  His  death,  burial,  and  resurrection, 
and  proclaimed  free  remission  of  sins  through 
His  name.  Yet  this  is  far  from  being  a  copy  or 
imitation  of  those  earlier  addresses.  It  has  its 
own  characteristic  merits ;  gives  evidence  of 
mental  breadth  and  energy  in  the  speaker,  and 


IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE.  I  I  7 

illustrates  his  admirable  faculty  for  blending 
together  statement  and  persuasion. 

A  closer  parallel  may  be  traced  between  the 
first  reported  speech  of  Paul  and  that  address 
of  Stephen  before  the  Sanhedrim  at  Jerusalem, 
which  the  apostle  had  heard  shortly  before  his 
conversion,  and  could  never  forget. 

Like  the  martyr,  St  Paul  began  with  a  rapid 
recital  of  the  history  of  Israel,  probably  taking 
the  cue  from  the  Scriptures  which  had  been 
read  in  the  Synagogue.  Thereby  he  put  him- 
self on  a  good  footing  with  his  hearers,  and 
conciliated  their  strong  national  feeling.  It 
was  not  necessary  for  St  Peter,  when  speaking 
to  the  people  at  Jerusalem,  to  go  so  far  back  as 
the  calling  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  their  exodus, 
their  error  in  the  wilderness,  their  settlement  in 
Palestine,  their  government  by  judges  and 
kings;  but  it  was  well  for  St  Stephen  to 
take  such  a  review  when  he  stood  before  the 
council  to  defend  himself  from  the  charge  of 
unfaithfulness  to  his  nation  and  its  hereditary 
religion ;  and  it  w^as  prudent  in  St  Paul  to 
follow  the  same  course  in  opening  his  address 
to  Jews  and  Proselytes  far  away  from  the  holy 
city,  surrounded  by  the  heathen,  and  cherishing, 


I  1 8         ST  PAUL  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH 

as  men  so  situated  were  sure  to  do,  an  intense 
and  even  jealous  feeling  for  the  traditions  of 
their  ancestry. 

St  Paul,  however,  had  more  than  a  con- 
ciliatory purpose  in  his  sketch  of  Israel's  early 
history.  While  desirous  to  show  that  he  was 
alive  to  all  the  honour  and  privilege  of  the 
chosen  people,  he  also  wished  to  remind  his 
hearers  how  wilful  and  refractory  that  people 
had  often  been.  After  their  escape  from  Egypt 
they  had  been  detained  for  forty  years  in  the 
Wilderness,  on  account  of  their  murmuring 
against  God,  their  unbelief,  and  disobedience. 
And  afterwards,  when  they  had  judges,  they 
were  not  content,  but  must  needs  ask  for  a 
king.  These  reminders  were  thrown  out  to 
prepare  the  audience  for  the  startling  charge 
which  the  apostle  had  to  bring  against  the 
rulers  of  the  Jews  at  Jerusalem,  as  having  con- 
demned and  slain  the  Saviour  whom  God  had 
brought  to  Israel.  Let  not  this  be  thought 
incredible.  The  people  had  erred  before,  and 
might  err  again.  They  had  rejected  Moses  and 
Samuel  ;  and  now  they  had  rejected  the  Christ. 

The  historical  review  stopped  at  the  elevation 
of  David  to  be  king.     This  was  certainly  not 


IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE.  I  1 9 

because  instances  of  national  error  and  dis- 
obedience could  not  be  cited  from  later  annals 
of  Israel  and  Judah,  but  because  the  mention  of 
David  opened  the  way  for  the  introduction  of 
the  name  and  story  of  Jesus.  Every  Jew, 
every  Proselyte,  expected  a  deliverer  of  Israel 
to  spring  from  the  root  of  Jesse ;  and  all  those 
"  of  the  dispersion  "  must  have  expected  that 
whenever  the  long-promised  Son  of  David 
appeared,  he  would  be  hailed  with  hosannas 
and  followed  with  enthusiasm  by  the  priests 
and  elders  at  Jerusalem.  St  Paul  told  those  at 
Antioch  that  the  Son  of  David  had  come.  "  Of 
this  man's  (David's)  seed  hath  God  according  to 
promise  brought  unto  Israel  a  Saviour,  Jesus." 
One  can  imagine  the  rustle  of  surprise  all  over 
the  Synagogue.  This  announcement  went  far 
beyond  anything  that  was  looked  for  when  the 
two  strangers  were  invited  to  speak.  It  appealed 
to  that  hope  of  a  Messiah  which  had  cheered 
the  hearts  of  religious  Jews  during  years  of 
national  depression  and  subjection  to  the 
heathen.  Every  ear  in  the  Synagogue  must 
have  been  on  the  alert  to  catch  every  word 
that  followed. 

The  Jews  in  Pisidia  probably  had  little  in- 


I20  ST  PAUL  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH 

tercourse  with  Palestine,  and  were  vaguely,  if 
at  all,  informed  of  the  events  which  had  recently 
transpired  in  their  father-land.  Therefore,  St 
Paul  thought  it  well  to  explain  to  them  that 
the  Son  of  David  had  not  appeared  without  the 
announcement  due  to  His  high  dignity.  A 
prophet,  and  more  than  a  prophet,  named 
John,  had  prepared  His  way,  and  by  preach- 
ing beforehand  "the  baptism  of  repentance," 
had  indicated  the  nature  of  the  salvation  which 
the  Son  of  David  was  about  to  bring,  and 
which  was  expressed  under  the  name,  Jesus, 
as  not  a  political  deliverance,  but  a  salvation 
from  sin. 

But  what  followed  the  appearing  of  the 
Saviour }  What  reception  had  been  given  to 
Him,  whose  sandals  the  great  prophet,  John, 
deemed  himself  unworthy  to  loose  ^  Now  was 
St  Paul  obliged  to  tell  of  the  condemnation  and 
crucifixion  of  Jesus  by  the  dwellers  in  Jerusa- 
lem and  their  rulers.  It  was  the  critical  point 
in  his  address,  and  was  treated  with  admirable 
discretion.  Those  Jews  "  of  the  dispersion  " 
naturally  looked  to  the  rulers  at  the  holy  city 
for  a  pattern  of  wisdom  and  for  lessons  in 
righteousness.     But,   alas!    it   must   be    shown 


IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE.  I  2  I 

to  them  that  those  rulers  with  the  people  of 
Jerusalem  had  erred  and  sinned  more  griev- 
ously than  their  fathers.  One  generation  had 
murmured  against  Moses,  another  had  rejected 
the  government  of  God  under  judges,  but  this 
generation  had  actually  rejected  and  slain  the 
Son  of  David,  the  Saviour.  It  was,  on  their 
part,  a  sin  of  ignorance,  and  perverse  blindness 
of  heart.  They  at  Jerusalem  had  not  known 
the  meaning  of  the  prophetical  books  which 
they  read  "  every  Sabbath  ; "  but  through  this 
very  ignorance  they  had  unwittingly  fulfilled 
prophecy  that  the  Messiah  must  suffer  in  order 
to  enter  into  His  glory. 

While  the  people  in  the  Synagogue  were 
listening  with  amazement  to  this  unexpected 
statement,  St  Paul  proceeded  rapidly  to 
convey  to  their  ears  these  facts :  that  the 
rulers  and  multitude  at  Jerusalem,  though 
they  could  find  no  fault  in  Jesus,  had  de- 
manded and  obtained  His  crucifixion  from 
the  Roman  governor,  Pilate ;  that  the  dead 
body  had  then  been  taken  "  down  from  the 
tree,"  and  duly  laid  "  in  a  tomb ; "  that  God 
had  raised  up  from  the  dead  Him  who  had 
been   slain   and   buried  ;   and  that  there  were 


122  ST  PAUL  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH 

many  witnesses,  well  acquainted  with  His 
person  In  Galilee,  who  had  seen  the  risen 
Saviour  "  for  many  days." 

One  can  hardly  suppose  that  the  Jews  and 
Proselytes  in  PIsidian  Antioch  had  never  heard 
so  much  as  a  rumour  of  these  things  till  this 
memorable  day.  But  this  was  the  first  clear 
and  firm  statement  concerning  Jesus  that  had 
been  made  In  their  hearing,  and  it  must  have 
astonished,  and  even  appalled  them.  Could 
such  things  be  .^  Was  it  to  be  believed  that 
the  foremost  men  of  their  nation  had  been  so 
obtuse  and  cruel  as  to  quench  the  nation's 
dearest  hope  in  innocent  blood.!*  What  could 
be  more  dreadful  than  that  the  Messiah  Prince 
should  have  been  slain  in  the  holy  city,  and 
that  too  by  the  most  painful  and  opprobrious 
instrument  of  death — the  Cross  }  And  what  was 
to  be  thought  of  the  alleged  resurrection,  and 
the  witnesses  who  asserted  it }  How  did  these 
things  agree  with  the  words  of  ancient  prophets  ? 

St  Paul  gave  his  hearers  no  time  to  express 
their  perplexities.  He  knew  their  thoughts, 
and  hastened  to  meet  them.  For  him,  as  for 
all  the  earliest  preachers  of  our  faith,  the  truth 
of  Christ's  resurrection  was  the  point  on  which 


IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE.  I  23 

to  lay  the  chief  emphasis ;  and  therefore  he 
proceeded  to  show  by  quotations  from  the 
Old  Testament,  that  Barnabas  and  he  were 
in  harmony  with  those  oracles,  and  had 
brought  "good  tidings  of  the  promise  made 
to  their  fathers." 

The  quotations  were  three  : — 

1.  "Thou  art  my  Son;  this  day  have  I  be- 
gotten Thee,"  Ps.  ii.  7.  According  to  the  pro- 
phetic ode,  the  royal  dignity  and  dominion  of 
the  Son  of  David  were  secured  by  a  divine 
decree  which  provided  for  the  raising  up  of  the 
king  as  by  a  birth  from  the  dark  womb  of 
death.  The  ancients  had  not  understood  the 
oracle ;  but  the  apostle  recognised  its  fulfilment 
in  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  Son  of  David,  and 
Son  of  God.  It  was  a  view  of  the  elevation  of 
his  Master  which  he  often  expressed  in  his  later 
teachings,  as  when  he  wrote  of  our  Saviour  as 
"  the  first-born  from  the  dead." 

2.  **  I  will  give  you  the  holy  and  sure  bless- 
ings of  David,"  Isa.  Iv.  3.  The  great  promise 
to  David,  regarded  by  him  as  "  an  everlasting 
covenant,"  *  had  respect  to  the  establishment  of 
his  throne  in  the  line  of  his  descendants.     The 

*  2  Sam.  xxiii.  5. 


124  ST  PAUL  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH 

throne  of  David,  however,  had  fallen.  How 
could  it  be  restored  and  made  the  throne  of  an 
everlasting  kingdom  ?  It  could  not  be  by  any 
mortal  sovereign,  however  prosperous.  But  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  as  son  of  David,  yet  no  more 
subject  to  death  as  David  was,  for  He  had  risen 
from  the  dead,  the  throne  might  be  established 
for  ever,  and  so  "  the  sure  mercies  of  David  "  be 
fulfilled. 

3.  "  Thou  wilt  not  give  Thy  Holy  One  to  see 
corruption,"  Ps.  xvi.  10.  On  this  prophetic 
word  St  Peter  had  spoken  at  Jerusalem  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost.  David  had  certainly  fallen 
asleep,  and  his  tomb  remained  undisturbed. 
The  Son  of  David,  the  destined  keeper  of 
Israel,  must  be  one  not  liable  to  death  and  that 
corruption  which  is  after  death.  It  was  a  con- 
dition which  no  one  could  fulfil  in  a  mortal  and 
corruptible  body.  David,  for  this  reason,  could 
only  serve  his  own  generation.  But  lo  !  a  Son 
of  David  who  had  endured  death,  had  risen 
again  before  the  dead  form  had  "seen  cor- 
ruption ! "  As  risen  from  the  dead,  Jesus 
was  able  to  save,  and  to  reign  to  all  genera- 
tions, and  the  whole  earth  is  to  be  filled  with 
His  glory. 


IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE.  I  25 

The  facts  concerning  Jesus  having  thus  been 
succinctly  told,  and  the  harmony  of  them  with 
Old  Testament  prophecy  set  forth,  the  apostle 
proceeded  with  a  swiftness  which  gave  no  op- 
portunity for  interruption,  to  declare  the  salva- 
tion which  Barnabas  and  he  had  come  forth  to 
preach.  Like  St  Peter  at  Jerusalem,  he  an- 
nounced free  remission  of  sins  through  the  Man 
of  God  s  right  hand,  the  Saviour.  Nay,  he  went 
further.  He  propounded  a  statement  which  he 
carefully  reasoned  and  established  in  his  writ- 
ings, viz.,  that  justification  could  not  be  through 
obedience  to  the  law  of  Moses,  could  be  only 
by  the  grace  of  God,  and  would  be  to  those 
only  who  had  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.  This  state- 
ment suffices  of  itself  to  show  that  to  be  justi- 
fied is  something  more  than  to  be  pardoned. 
No  one  could  suppose  that  he  could  be  par- 
doned through  the  law.  Pardon  never  is  by 
law :  it  is  an  act  of  grace  or  mercy.  To  be 
justified   is  to    be  accounted    righteous.      The  \ 

Jews  held  that  they  would  be  justified  by  and 
before  God  on  account  of  careful  observance  of 
the  law.  They  think  so  still.  But  St  Paul  had 
learned,  and  now  began  to  teach,  that  such  con- 
fidence was  vain.     The  perfect  law  could  not 


I  26  ST  PAUL  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH 

consistently  justify — God  Himself,  as  acting  in 
the  law,  would  not  justify  man  whose  obedience 
was  imperfect ;  but  God  in  grace  would  account 
as  righteous  those  who  believed  in  Jesus.  "  It 
is  God  that  justifieth ;  who  is  he  that  con- 
demneth  ?  " 

So  clear  is  this  doctrine  in  St  Paul's  teaching, 
that  one  marvels  how  the  notion  of  a  sinner 
being  justified  on  account  of  works  of  righteous- 
ness which  he  has  done,  ever  obtained  any  accep- 
tance among  Christians.  If  men  will  put  them- 
selves under  the  law  for  justification,  the  result 
is  and  must  be  the  very  opposite  of  that  which 
they  seek.  It  is  and  must  be  condemnation, 
because  the  law  is  not  perfectly  kept,  but  is 
violated  in  thought,  word,  and  deed.  Sin  is 
the  transgression  of  the  law.  God's  word  of 
salvation  reveals  a  more  excellent  way.  Justi- 
fication from  all  things  is  by  God's  free  grace  to 
the  believers  in  Jesus  ;  and  they  are,  not  are  to 
be,  justified.  They  stand  "in  Him,  in  Him 
alone,  gloriously  complete." 

The  Jews  became  passionately  excited  when 
any  word  was  spoken  that  seemed  to  derogate 
from  the  high  dignity  of  Moses  and  the  law. 
Accordingly,    the  uneasiness   which   had    been 


IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE.  I  27 

gathering  during  St  Paul's  address,  began  at 
this  last  word  to  swell  into  indignation.  The 
speaker  observed  it  in  the  faces  of  his  auditors, 
perhaps  in  gestures  also,  and  an  angry  murmur. 
So  he  brought  his  speech  to  an  end  with  words 
of  warning  quoted  from  the  book  of  Habakkuk 
(chap.  i.  5),  the  burden  of  it  being  that  they 
should  not  despise  the  word  sent  to  them  from 
God. 

The  speech  was  ended  ;  and  the  two  mission- 
aries left  the  synagogue  amidst  a  loud  hum  of 
voices  eagerly  talking  of  St  Paul's  discourse. 
A  strong  difference  of  opinion  appeared.  Some 
received  the  word,  and  followed  Paul  and 
Barnabas  :  but  some  resisted  it,  and,  hardening 
their  hearts,  soon  became  persecutors  of  those 
preachers  of  salvation. 

All  prophets  and  preachers  of  the  Gospel 
have  to  warn  their  hearers  against  a  neglect  of 
the  great  salvation,  or  a  prejudiced  resistance 
to  it.  The  Master  himself  had  to  weep  over 
infatuated  Jerusalem.  It  is  enough  that  ser- 
vants be  as  their  Lord.  They  must  not  count 
it  a  strange  thing  that,  however  plainly  and 
earnestly  they  speak,  some  of  their  hearers  will 


128  ST  PAUL  IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE. 

lightly  esteem  the  message  of  reconciliation  to 
God,  and  return  to  their  houses  unjustified.  As 
St  Paul  said  at  a  later  stage  of  his  ministry, 
"  We  are  a  sweet  savour  of  Christ  unto  God  in 
them  that  are  being  saved,  and  in  them  that  are 
perishing." 


VIII. 

ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE  ASSEMBLY  AT 
JERUSALEM. 

"  And  when  there  had  been  much  questioning,  Peter  rose  up, 
and  said  unto  them,  Brethren,  ye  know  how  that  a  good  while 
ago  God  made  choice  among  you,  that  by  my  mouth  the  Gen- 
tiles should  hear  the  word  of  the  gospel,  and  believe.  And 
God,  which  knoweth  the  heart,  bare  them  witness,  giving  them 
the  Holy  Ghost,  even  as  he  did  unto  us ;  and  he  made  no  dis- 
tinction between  us  and  them,  cleansing  their  hearts  by  faith. 
Now  therefore  why  tempt  ye  God,  that  ye  should  put  a  yoke 
upon  the  neck  of  the  disciples,  which  neither  our  fathers  nor  we 
were  able  to  bear?  But  we  believe  that  we  shall  be  saved 
through  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  in  like  manner  as  they. 
And  all  the  multitude  kept  silence ;  and  they  hearkened  unto 
Barnabas  and  Paul  rehearsing  what  signs  and  wonders  God  had 
wrought  among  the  Gentiles  by  them.  And  after  they  had  held 
their  peace,  James  answered,  saying.  Brethren,  hearken  unto 
me  :  Symeon  hath  rehearsed  how  first  God  did  visit  the  Gen- 
tiles, to  take  out  of  them  a  people  for  his  name.  And  to  this 
agree  the  words  of  the  prophets ;  as  it  is  written,  After  these 
things  I  will  return,  and  I  will  build  again  the  tabernacle  of 
David,  which  is  fallen ;  and  I  will  build  again  the  ruins  thereof, 
and  I  will  set  it  up :  that  the  residue  of  men  may  seek  after  the 
Lord.  And  all  the  Gentiles,  upon  whom  my  name  is  called, 
saith  the  Lord,  who  maketh  these  things  known  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world.  Wherefore  my  judgment  is  that  we 
trouble  not  them  which  from  among  the  Gentiles  turn  to  God  ; 
but  that  we  write  unto  them,  that  they  abstain  from  the  poUu- 


130        ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

tions  of  idols,  and  from  fornication,  and  from  what  is  strangled, 
and  from  blood.  For  Moses  from  generations  of  old  hath  in 
every  city  them  that  preach  him,  being  read  in  the  synagogues 
every  sabbath." — Acts  xv.  7-21. 

THE  apostolic  speeches  which  we  have  con- 
sidered hitherto,  have  been  for  the  most 
part  statements  or  vindications  of  the  Gospel. 
Several  of  the  reports  given  to  us  by  St  Luke 
might  be  described  as  "  notes  of  sermons."  The 
only  one  which  prepares  us  for  the  discussion 
that  now  comes  under  review,  is  the  address  of 
St  Peter  at  Jerusalem  in  explanation  of  his  con- 
duct towards  Cornelius  and  other  Gentiles  at 
Caesarea.  At  the  time,  that  address  silenced 
Jewish  murmurers  in  the  mother  Church.  They 
did  not  in  express  terms  acquiesce  in  the  law- 
fulness of  receiving  Gentile  converts  into  fellow- 
ship without  subjecting  them  to  circumcision, 
and  requiring  them  to  pass  under  the  yoke  of 
the  Mosaic  law  ;  but  they  acknowledged  that 
God  had  granted^to  Gentiles  "repentance  unto 
life."  The  question  was  not  dead,  but  slept  a 
while.  It  awoke  with  energy  when  the  Gospel 
was  openly  carried  to  the  Gentiles  in  Syria 
and  throughout  Asia  Minor,  and  churches  of 
mixed  origin  were  formed.  About  twelve  years 
had   passed    since   St   Peter  had   calmed   the 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  1 3  I 

murmurs  of  the  Jewish  Christians ;  and  during 
that  time  the  Church  at  Jerusalem  had  been 
recruited  from  the  Hebrew  population  only, 
and  contained  a  good  many  persons  who, 
though  they  owned  Jesus  as  the  Messiah,  had 
little  of  His  spirit,  and  were  as  bigoted  as  any 
Pharisees.  The  mission  to  the  Gentiles  had 
emanated  from  Antioch,  not  from  Jerusalem  ; 
and  when  the  Church  in  the  former  city  was 
rejoicing  over  the  success  which  the  missionaries 
on  their  return  were  able  to  report,  it  was  from 
Judea  that  fanatical  Jewish  Christians  came 
down  to  disturb  the  peace  and  damp  the  joy  at 
Antioch  by  insisting  that  circumcision  was 
essential  to  salvation.  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
fresh  from  the  mission  field,  could  not  for  a 
moment  admit  this  miserable  narrowing  of  the 
grace  of  God.  While  those  Judean  Christians 
could  think  of  nothing  greater  than  the 
distinctive  sanctity  and  glory  of  Israel,  the 
missionaries  had  caught  the  Master's  mighty 
thought  of  God's  love  to  the  world,  and  had 
seen  the  value  and  adaptation  of  the  Gospel 
to  men  of  strange  cities,  who  welcomed  it  when 
it  was  denounced  and  rejected  by  the  Jews. 
They  knew  that  it  would  be  impossible,  and 


132        ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

felt  that  it  would  be  useless,  to  keep  the  Church 
on  the  restricted  lines  of  the  synagogue,  and  to 
compel  converts  from  all  nations  to  conform  to 
the  customs  of  the  Jews.  The  discussion  of 
the  question  at  Antioch  was  hot  and  protracted  ; 
so  it  was  determined  that  a  deputation  should 
go  to  Jerusalem  to  consult  the  apostles  and 
elders  there,  and  so  ascertain  whether  the 
preachers  of  circumcision  who  had  come  from 
Judea  did  or  did  not  represent  the  mature 
opinions  of  the  mother  Church. 

Whether  the  assembly  at  Jerusalem  may  be 
regarded  as  in  any  proper  sense  a  synod  or 
council  is  a  question  beyond  our  present  scope. 
Enough  that  we  are  allowed  to  enter  the 
assembly  and  hear  the  speeches. 

The  "  apostles  and  elders "  were  seated  in 
order,  as  constituting  a  Christian  Sanhedrim. 
On  the  earlier  occasion,  when  St  Peter's  con- 
duct at  Csesarea  had  been  called  in  question,  we 
read  of  "  the  apostles  and  the  brethren."  In 
the  interval,  presbyters  had  been  appointed  to 
represent  and  superintend  the  general  body  of 
Christian  brethren.  There  is  no  mention  of  an 
institution  of  this  order,  as  there  is  of  the  order 
of  deacons,  and  for  this  excellent  reason,  that 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  1 33 

the  deaconship  was  a  new  order,  but  the  elder- 
ship was  not.  The  Jews  had  always  been 
accustomed  to  the  rule  of  elders,  and,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  continued  that  order  in  the 
new  Christian  fellowship.  Barnabas  and  Paul 
had  no  hesitation  whatever  as  to  the  kind  of 
superintendence  which  was  proper  for  the  new 
congregations  gathered  through  their  labours 
in  Asia  Minor.  They  "appointed  elders  in 
every  church."*  It  is  as  plain  as  possible  that 
those  assemblies  at  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Pisidian 
Antioch,  were  what  we  should  call  now-a-days 
Presbyterian  congregations.f 

Along  with  their  acknowledged  leaders  were 
assembled  many  of  the  private  Christians  of 
Jerusalem;  and  in  the  preliminary  "question- 
ing "  they  probably  made  their  voices  heard  in 
exclamations  and  interruptions,  for  the  matter 

*  Acts  xiv.  21-23. 

+  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  argue  this  after  the  acknow- 
ledgments of  Lightfoot,  Jacob,  and  Hatch,  the  modern  scholar- 
ship of  our  English  Prelatism  having  virtually  conceded  the 
Presbyterian  position  as  regards  the  first,  and  most  important 
century.  The  late  Dean  of  Westminster  has  said,  in  the 
last  work  which  issued  from  his  pen — "It  is  certain  that 
throughout  the  first  century,  and  for  the  first  years  of  the  second, 
bishop  and  presbyter  were  convertible  terms,  and  that  the  body 
of  men  so-called  were  the  rulers — so  far  as  any  permanent  rulers 
existed — of  the  early  Church. "   Rather  awkward  this  for  divines 


134        ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

in  hand  was  one  that  excited  intense  feeling, 
and  the  mention  of  silence  after  St  Peter's 
speech  implies  that  there  had  been  a  good  deal 
of  noise  and  agitation  before  he  began.  Bar- 
nabas and  Paul  were  there  with  other  deputies 
from  Antioch  who  took  the  same  side  in  the 
controversy.  The  party  opposed  to  them  was 
numerously  represented  also. 

As  battles  have  often  begun  with  the  skir- 
mishing of  light  troops,  that  could  decide 
nothing,  but  could  search  and  clear  the  ground 
for  the  onset  of  the  battalions  that  were  to 
decide  the  fortune  of  the  day ;  so  in  this 
assembly  there  was  much  informal  discussion 
before  the  leaders  spoke.  To  us  it  may  seem 
pitiful  that  the  question  should  have  given  any 
trouble;  almost  ludicrous  that  such  a  fleshly 
rite  as  circumcision  should  have  been  gravely 

who  have  it  gravely  laid  down  in  their  formularies  that — "  It  is 
evident  unto  all  men  diligently  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures  and 
ancient  authors,  that  from  the  apostles'  time  there  have  been 
three  orders  of  ministers — bishops,  priests,  and  deacons. "  Dean 
Stanley  knew  that  this  was  incorrect,  and  got  over  it,  or  slipped 
past  it,  thus: — "We  commonly  speak  of  three  orders,  and  the 
present  elevation  of  bishops  has  justified  that  phrase;  but 
according  to  the  strict  rules  of  the  Church,  derived  from  those 
early  times,  there  are  but  two — presbyters  and  deacons." — 
"  Christian  Institutions,"  pp.  187-189. 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  I  35 

regarded  as  essential  to  salvation.  But  it  was 
a  dogma  taught  by  venerable  Rabbis  ;  and  the 
Jewish  Christians  who  contended  for  the  uni- 
versal obligation  of  what  they  called,  with  more 
zeal  than  accuracy,  "the  custom  of  Moses"* 
(for  circumcision  came  from  Abraham),  simply 
overrated  the  importance  of  external  rites  and 
observances,  as  narrow-minded  men  always  do. 
It  would  not  be  difficult  to  show  that  Gentile 
Christianity  has  also  had  bigots  who  taught 
conditions  of  salvation  quite  as  irrational. 

At  last  it  was  evident  that  the  ''  much  ques- 
tioning" was  not  moving  the  subject  any  nearer 
to  solution.  We  are  allowed  to  hear  two 
speeches  which  moulded  the  opinion  of  the 
assembly,  and  brought  the  somewhat  heated 
and  perilous  discussion  to  a  temperate  and 
harmonious  conclusion.  The  speakers  had 
great  influence,  for  they  were  "pillars  in  the 
Church."  And  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  gave 
them  meekness  of  wisdom. 

I.  "  Peter  rose  up."  It  had  always  been  his 
way  to  take  the  initiative ;  and  the  illustrious 
part  he  had  played  on  and  since  the  day  of 
Pentecost  entitled  him  to   much  honour  and 

*  Acts  XV.  I . 


T^6        ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

deference  from  the  whole  Christian  community. 
He  was  no  pope,  for,  if  he  had  been,  he  would 
have  settled  the  matter  in  dispute  by  a  decree. 
He  claimed  nothing  more  than  a  voice  on  a  par 
with  the  other  apostles  and  elders.  He  de- 
scribes himself  with  his  own  pen  as  "  an  apostle 
of  Jesus  Christ,  who  also  am  an  elder."* 

The  speech  of  St  Peter,  as  reported,  is  short, 
but  clear  and  to  the  point.  He  saw  no  need 
for  lengthened  discussion.  He  was  guided  to 
his  conclusion  by  the  logic  of  facts.  The 
matter  now  debated  was  in  his  view  virtually 
settled  by  the  former  case  of  the  Gentiles  at 
Caesarea,  and  he  at  once  recalled  that  case  to 
the  mind  of  the  assembly.  It  was  not  the  bent 
of  this  apostle's  mind  to  plough  his  way  through 
a  deep  or  careful  argument ;  but  he  knew  how 
to  grasp  relevant  facts,  and  make  them  tell 
strongly  on  the  minds  of  others.  He  held  that 
the  act  of  God  in  cleansing  the  hearts  of  Cor- 
neHus  and  his  friends  by  faith,  and  imparting  to 
them  the  Holy  Ghost,  was  sufficient  to  estab- 
lish the  principle  that,  for  a  Gentile  at  all 
events,  circumcision  was  not  essential  to  salva- 
tion !     Why  should  not  the  decision  arrived  at, 

*  I  Pet.  i.  I  ;  V.  i. 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  I37 

SO  many  years  before,  in  the  case  from  Csesarea, 
apply  to  other  cases  as  they  arose  ?  Why 
should  the  objectors  "  tempt  God  "  by  assum- 
ing that  He  would  not  save  Gentiles  elsewhere 
as  He  had  saved  them  in  the  house  of  Cor- 
nelius ?  And  for  what  end  did  they  seek  thus 
to  restrict  the  mercy  of  God,  and  limit  the 
range  of  the  Christian  Church  ?  Was  it  then 
really  such  an  object  to  impose  on  the  Gentile 
disciples  a  yoke  of  rites  and  ceremonies  which 
generations  of  Israel  had  been  unable  to  bear  ? 

The  obligation  of  circumcision  was  not  the 
only  point  raised  by  the  objecting  party.  Being 
of  the  sect  of  the  Pharisees,  though  now  also 
Christians,  they  alleged  that  it  was  needful  not 
only  to  circumcise  Gentile  converts,  but  also 
"to  charge  them  to  keep  the  law  of  Moses."* 
This  was  what  St  Peter  called  "a  yoke  upon 
the  neck."  He  referred  to  the  minute  regula- 
tions of  the  ceremonial  law  which,  though 
familiar  to  the  Jews  by  hereditary  usage,  would 
have  been  an  unmeaning  and  vexatious  burden 
on  Greek  or  Roman  Christians.  Nor  did  he 
exclude  from  his  meaning  the  moral  precepts 
of  the  law  of  Moses  when  regarded,  as  they 

*  Acts  XV.  5. 


138        ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

were  by  the  Pharisees,  as  instruments  for  estab- 
lishing self-righteousness.  Indeed  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  ceremonial  and  the  moral 
elements  in  the  Mosaic  legislation  which  is 
so  carefully  made  by  our  theologians,  was  not 
at  all  emphasised  by  the  Jewish  mind,  which 
looked  on  the  law  as  a  whole,  and  was  inclined, 
so  far  as  it  made  a  difference,  to  give  the  more 
important  place  to  ritual,  and  to  make  more  of 
customs  and  ceremonies  than  of  morals. 

One  thing  was  quite  certain,  that  salvation 
for  all  men  was  "  through  the  grace  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  ;"  and  no  ceremonial  or  traditional  restric- 
tion on  that  grace  could  be  allowed.  We  can 
imagine  the  satisfaction  with  which  St  Paul, 
who  understood  the  question,  and  appreciated 
the  critical  issues  of  that  day  better  than  any 
one,  listened  to  this  clear  evangelical  statement 
as  it  fell  from  the  lips  of  the  venerable  Simon 
Peter.  He  remembered  it,  and  was  obliged  to 
remind  St  Peter  of  it  on  a  future  occasion  at 
Antioch,  when  that  apostle  showed  some  symp- 
tom of  the  weakness  of  other  days,  and  acted  in 
a  manner  inconsistent  with  his  speech. 

Happily  the  speech  was  on  the  side  of  Gen- 
tile liberty.     St  Peter  always  spoke  with  effect ; 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  I  39 

and  the  whole  assembly  felt  the  force  of  his  un- 
answerable words.  The  facts  which  he  had 
recalled  could  not  be  denied  ;  and  indeed  the 
only  question  that  could  now  be  discussed  was 
whether  the  principle  on  which  the  case  of  the 
Caesarean  converts  had  been  decided  ought  to 
be  applied  to  all  disciples  gathered  from  the 
heathen  nations.  "All  the  multitude  kept 
silence."  So  far  truth  and  charity  had  gained 
the  day. 

The  silence  was  broken  by  the  missionaries. 
Perhaps  by  prearrangement  with  the  leading 
apostles,  perhaps  on  the  happy  inspiration  of 
the  moment,  Barnabas  and  Paul  with  excellent 
tact  struck  in,  and  spoke  successively  in  the 
line  which  was  pointed  to  by  St  Peter.  Barna- 
bas seems  to  have  spoken  first — a  judicious 
arrangement,  because  he  had  a  stronger  hold 
than  his  companion  on  the  confidence  of  the 
Church  at  Jerusalem.  Both  of  them  were  men 
not  likely  to  surrender  any  just  claim  of  Judaism 
without  good  cause.  Barnabas  was  a  Levite, 
and  Paul  a  carefully  educated  Pharisee,  who 
even  in  youth  had  been  a  Sanhedrist.  They 
proceeded    to  rehearse   facts  which  had  come 


140        ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

under  their  own  observation  during  their  recent 
missionary  tour  in  foreign  parts,  thus  following 
up  and  deepening  the  impression  of  St  Peter's 
speech.  They  did  not  so  much  debate  or  argue 
as  narrate  what  God  had  wrought  among  the 
Gentiles  under  their  own  ministry.  Then  they 
did  not  need  to  press  the  question ;  it  suggested 
and  pressed  itself.  If  God  has  not  refused  those 
Gentile  converts  on  account  of  their  uncircum- 
cision,  why  should  the  Church  refuse  them .? 
And  if  God  gave  to  them  His  Holy  spirit,  why 
should  men  hesitate  to  give  them  baptism  ? 

Thus  the  necessary  proof  was  laid  before  the 
assembly,  that  the  great  question  now  under 
discussion  was  only  a  continuation  and  enlarge- 
ment of  that  which  had  been  settled  twelve 
years  before.  And  the  way  was  prepared  for 
a  reasonable  and  liberal  solution  of  the  diffi- 
culty. 

11.  St  James  then  moved,  as  we  should  say, 
the  judgment  of  the  court.  There  was  indeed 
a  third  pillar  of  the  Church* — St  John — but  he, 
if  present,  was  no  doubt  content,  as  at  other 
times,  to  signify  his  concurrence  with  his 
*  Gal.  i.  9. 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  I4I 

familiar  friend,  St  Peter.  It  fell  naturally  to 
St  James  to  close  the  discussion  on  account  of 
his  position  as  in  chief  charge  of  the  Church  at 
Jerusalem,  or  president  of  the  local  Presbytery. 
He  is  known  to  have  been  held  in  great  esteem 
by  all  the  people  of  Jerusalem,  non-Christian  as 
well  as  Christian.  His  character  gave  great 
weight  to  his  opinion  on  such  an  occasion  as 
this ;  and  his  voice  must  have  been  eagerly 
waited  for  by  the  Judaising  party,  because  he 
was  a  strict  Jew,  and  they  must  have  felt  that 
such  a  question  as  they  had  raised  would  receive 
from  him  all  due  consideration.  He  was  not 
implicated  in  any  personal  intercourse  with 
Gentiles,  as  St  Peter  was,  but  happily  he  was 
too  just  a  man  to  lay  an  unnecessary  burden  on 
other  nations  for  the  exaltation  of  Judaism,  and 
too  enlightened  to  suppose  that  all  mankind 
must  be  forced  to  adopt  a  Jewish  peculiarity  in 
order  to  be  saved. 

This  is  the  only  speech  of  St  James  which 
has  been  preserved.  It  consists  of  four  sen- 
tences : — 

I.  He  recognised  the  importance  and  re- 
levancy of  the  historical  case  referred  to  by  his 
colleague,  whom  he  characteristically  styled  in 


142        ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

the  Hebrew  form  ''  Symeon."  The  conversion 
of  Gentiles  at  Csesarea  appeared  to  his  mind  as 
the  act  of  God  in  taking  a  people  for  His  name 
out  of  the  profane  mass  of  the  heathen  world. 

2.  He  went  to  the  Old  Testament  to  find 
prophetic  sanction  for  this  new  phenomenon. 
A  mind  like  his  craved  some  ground  of  Scrip- 
ture as  well  as  of  observation  and  reason  for  the 
admission  of  the  Gentiles  to  the  household  of 
faith.  He  found  it  in  the  book  of  Amos,  from 
which  he  made  a  quotation  (chap.  ix.  ii,  12)  in 
the  Septuagint  version.  The  prophet  had  fore- 
told that  the  fallen  tabernacle  of  David  would 
be  rebuilt,  and  that  in  conjunction  with  this 
favour  to  Israel  a  blessing  would  fall  on  the 
Gentiles — "upon  whom  My  name  is  called, 
saith  the  Lord."  The  apostle  was  not  careful 
to  fix  the  definite  literal  fulfilment  of  the  oracle. 
He  was  not  unaware  of  what  have  been  well- 
described  as  "  the  ever  widening  horizons  of 
prophecy."  The  erection  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  the  Son  of  David,  was  a  restoration  of 
the  tabernacle  of  David ;  and  there  came  into 
prominent  view  those  words  which  intimated 
that  the  Lord's  name  would  be  "  called  "  on  the 
Gentiles.     Was  not  this  being  fulfilled  in  the 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  1 43 

conversion  to  Christ  of  a  people  whom  God  was 
now  calling  out  of  the  heathen  world  for  His 
name  ?  And,  if  so,  it  certainly  was  not  neces- 
sary for  those  Gentile  Christians  to  renounce 
their  own  nationalities,  and  conform  to  the 
separate  rites  and  customs  of  the  Jews. 

3.  In  pursuance  of  this  view,  he  proposed  a 
decision  of  the  case  before  the  assembly,  and 
gave  his  own  vote  in  its  support.  He  was  in 
favour  of  some  restrictions  whereas  St  Peter  had 
spoken  of  none,  but  he  conceded  the  main  point 
about  which  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  anxious. 
The  Gentile  converts  should  not  be  harassed  by 
exactions  and  prescriptions  which  had  their 
origin  in  Jewish  custom  and  law.  Enough  that 
they  should  conform  to  certain  rules  of  absten- 
tion which  could  not  be  called  irksome,  and 
which  might  in  some  degree  conciliate  those 
who  were  apt  to  regard  all  Gentiles  alike  as 
unclean.  The  restrictions  were  of  a  prudential 
nature,  intended  to  preserve  the  peace  between 
Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  till  such  time  as 
the  lasting  principles  of  New  Testament  free- 
dom and  fellowship  should  be  more  clearly 
understood. 

4.  In  his  last  sentence  he  touched  with  sooth- 


144        ^T  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

ing  hand  the  susceptibilities  of  the  more  keen 
Jewish  partisans.  The  law  was  according  to 
ancient  practice  read  on  every  Sabbath  in  all 
the  synagogues  in  the  world.  There  was  no 
need  to  fear  that  the  liberty  accorded  to  the 
Gentiles  would  bring  the  law  into  disrespect. 
And  there  was  strong  reason  why  the  Gentile 
Christians  should  consider  and  spare  the  feel- 
ings of  their  Jewish  brethren  on  this  subject, 
and  even  defer  to  their  scruples  in  so  far  as  con- 
science would  allow. 

At  the  close  of  this  short  speech  from  St 
James  the  deliberation  of  the  council  was  closed. 
Some  of  the  Judaising  party  no  doubt  were 
silenced  rather  than  convinced  ;  but  the  ques- 
tion was  settled.  The  counsel  of  St  James 
became  the  unanimous  resolution  of  the  whole 
conclave.  The  Gentile  liberty  was  secured, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  the  peace  of  the  whole 
Church  was  promoted. 

The  whole  discussion  suggests  to  our 
minds  : — 

I.  The  advantage  of  holding  Christian  as- 
semblies for  the  adjustment  of  difficulties.  The 
narrative  which  we    have    been  examining  is 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  1 45 

fatal  to  the  Popish,  and  to  any  and  every 
hierarchical,  system  of  church  government ;  for 
there  was  open  discussion  in  a  grand  council  of 
apostles  and  elders  in  the  presence  of  their 
brethren,  and  the  decision  went  out  in  the  name 
of  Apostles  and  Presbyters  with  concurrence  of 
the  whole  Church.  It  is  also  incompatible  with 
a  bare  system  of  independency,  which  leaves 
every  local  church  to  steer  its  own  course,  ad- 
just as  best  it  may  its  own  perplexities,  and 
consume  its  own  party  spirit  or  be  consumed 
thereby.  We  have  said  that  we  should  deem  it 
beyond  our  present  scope  to  determine  how  far 
this  assembly  at  Jerusalem  corresponds  to  a 
synod  receiving  and  determining  a  reference  on 
some  local  difficulty  ;  but  we  venture  to  think 
that  the  narrative  goes  far  to  sanction  and  re- 
commend the  settlement  of  such  disputes  by 
some  large  and  impartial  tribunal. 

It  is  easy  to  point  the  finger  at  synods  or 
councils  which  have  been  bigoted,  tyrannical, 
tumultuous,  superstitious  ;  but  these  were '  not 
constituted  like  the  assembly  at  Jerusalem. 
Give  us  a  council  of  the  elders  of  the 
Church,  and  these,  not  as  a  privileged  caste 
meeting  apart,  but  as  the  trusted  leaders  of 
K 


146        ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  TO  THE 

the  Christian  community,  deliberating  in  pre- 
sence of  their  brethren ;  and  you  furnish  the 
best  possible  instrument  for  adjusting  diffi- 
culties, allaying  jealousies,  maintaining  truth 
and  peace.  For  the  safety  of  the  State,  local 
and  particular  objects  must  be  kept  in  sub- 
ordination to  the  public  interest;  and  this  is 
secured  by  vesting  the  supreme  control  in  a 
National  Assembly  or  High  Court  of  Parlia- 
ment. To  this  conclusion  all  progressive 
nations  tend.  They  find  in  this  the  benefit 
of  bringing  out  and  bringing  together  the 
wisdom  of  their  ablest  counsellors,  and  that 
too  under  the  full  light  of  public  comment. 
A  similar  arrangement  must  be  good  for 
the  Church,  conducing  as  it  does  alike  to 
that  candid  consideration  and  comparison  of 
diverging  views  which  is  essential  to  broad 
and  wise  conclusions,  and  to  that  development 
of  various  gifts  among  the  elders  and  brethren 
which  is  for  the  profit  of  all.  The  Church 
wants  missionary  pioneers  and  energetic 
workers  like  Barnabas  and  Paul;  fathers  of 
practical  experience,  like  Saint  Peter;  grave 
and  cautious  men  too,  like  James,  who  know 
how  to  bring  disputation  to  an  end  by  framing 
a  reasonable  and_[equitable  deliverance. 


ASSEMBLY  AT  JERUSALEM.  1 47 

2.  The  debt  of  gratitude  due  to  those  men 
who  settled  what  are  now  to  us  dead  con- 
troversies. The  Gnostic,  Manichean,  Arian, 
Monophysite,  and  other  questions  that  tor- 
mented and  perplexed  early  Christianity,  are 
nothing  now  but  matters  of  remote  history. 
Thanks  to  the  defenders  of  the  faith  who 
encountered  and  refuted  these  heresies! 
Thanks  above  all  to  the  Spirit  of  Truth  who 
enabled  them  to  discern  and  maintain  sound 
doctrine ! 

The  question  of  circumcision  which  troubled 
the  infancy  of  the  Church  so  much  is  now  quite 
dead.  We  can  scarcely  conceive  a  proposal 
being  gravely  made  or  entertained  that  such 
a  rite  should  be  imposed  on  Christians  of  all 
nations.  But  we  should  remember  that  at  the 
beginning  our  Gentile  liberty  in  Christ  was 
won  only  by  a  hard  struggle,  and  should 
heartily  honour  the  men,  themselves  Jews, 
who  broke  down  the  claims  of  an  arrogant 
Judaism. 

Even  the  decision  at  Jerusalem  did  not  settle 
the  question.  St  Paul  had  still  to  fight  it  out 
in  almost  every  Church,  by  letters  and  by  oral 
teaching.     Few  things  are  nobler  in  religious 


148    ST  PETER  AND  ST  JAMES  AT  JERUSALEM. 

history  than  the  devotion  of  this  Pharisee — 
this  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews — to  the  cause 
of  Gentile  liberty  in  Christ.  Thanks  to  him 
most  of  all,  and  then  to  other  Jewish  brethren 
who  championed  our  freedom  from  a  Jewish 
yoke !  j  Well  for  us,  and  for  all  the  world, 
that  they  recognised  in  Jesus  the  light  to 
lighten  the  Gentiles,  as  well  as  the  glory  of 
the  people  Israel,  and  also  perceived  that  "in 
Him  neither  circumcision  nor  uncircumcision 
profits  anything,  but  a  new  creation." 


IX. 

ST   PAUL  TO   THE  ATHENIANS. 

"And  Paul  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  Areopagus,  and  said,  Ye 
men  of  Athens  in  all  things  I  perceive  that  ye  are  somewhat 
superstitious.  For  as  I  passed  along,  and  observed  the  objects 
of  your  worship,  I  found  also  an  altar  with  this  inscription, 
TO  AN  UNKNOWN  GOD.  What  therefore  ye  worship  in 
ignorance,  this  set  forth  I  unto  you.  The  God  that  made 
the  world  and  all  things  therein,  he,  being  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth,  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands ;  neither  is  he 
served  by  men's  hands,  as  though  he  needed  anything,  seeing 
he  himself  giveth  to  all  life,  and  breath,  and  all  things  ;  and  he 
made  of  one  every  nation  of  men  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face  of 
the  earth,  having  determined  theh-  appointed  seasons,  and  the 
bounds  of  their  habitation  ;  that  they  should  seek  God,  if  haply 
they  might  feel  after  him,  and  find  him,  though  he  is  not  far 
from  each  one  of  us ;  for  in  him  we  live,  and  move,  and  have 
our  being  ;  as  certain  even  of  your  own  poets  have  said.  For  we 
are  also  his  offspring.  Being  then  the  offspring  of  God,  we 
ought  not  to  think  that  the  Godhead  is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver, 
or  stone,  graven  by  art  and  device  of  man.  The  times  of 
ignorance  therefore  God  overlooked  ;  but  now  he  commandeth 
men  that  they  should  all  everywhere  repent :  inasmuch  as  he 
hath  appointed  a  day,  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in 
righteousness  by  the  man  whom  he  hath  ordained  ;  whereof  he 
hath  given  assurance  unto  all  men,  in  that  he  hath  raised  him 
from  the  dead." — Acts  xvii.  22-31. 

WE  are  now  in  Europe,  and  on  the  classic 
soil  of  Greece.     Jews  had  settled  in 
the  chief  Greek  cities,  and  gathered  round  them 


1  50  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

a  certain  number  of  Proselytes.  They  had  a 
synagogue  at  Athens,  to  which  the  apostle  Paul 
went  on  his  arrival  in  the  city  ;  but  the  Jewish 
influence  obviously  was  small,  and  the  interest 
of  St  Paul's  visit  did  not  turn  on  Jewish 
questions.  His  discussion  in  the  Agora,  or 
market-place,  was  with  the  Greeks  who  loved 
colloquial  argument  in  the  open  air;  and  his 
address,  perhaps  the  most  admired  of  all  his 
speeches,  was  delivered  to  them  in  their  court- 
house, under  the  blue  sky,  on  the  hill  of  Mars. 

The  occasion  which  drew  forth  this  speech 
must  have  galled  the  sensitive  spirit  of  St 
Paul,  but  did  not  in  the  least  confuse  his 
mind,  or  embarrass  his  ready  eloquence.  He 
was  alone  in  a  city  which  may  be  described 
as  thoroughly  Pagan,  for  the  few  Jews  and 
Proselytes  were  of  no  account,  and  which  was  at 
the  same  time  extremely  proud  of  its  literary  and 
philosophical  eminence,  and,  therefore,  presented 
a  peculiarly  hard  surface  to  the  Christian  mis- 
sionary. The  people  whom  St  Paul  met  -  in 
the  market-place,  including  those  who  by 
profession  were  students  of  wisdom,  treated 
his  grave  statements  with  levity.  Now  he 
was   accustomed  to  angry   opposition  and   se- 


ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS.  I  5  1 

vere  controversy.  Such  obstruction  he  was 
prepared  to  meet.  But  this  light,  chattering 
Athenian  ridicule  was  a  new  form  of  vexation, 
and  one  that  must  have  been  peculiarly  trying 
to  an  earnest  spirit  consciously  entrusted  with 
a  divine  message  of  transcendent  value  and 
urgency. 

Afanc^  seized  the  Athenians  to  call  this 
Jewish  stranger  to  a  sort  of  mock  trial  for 
his  new  doctrine.  So  they  seized  him,  not  as 
with  any  serious  or  legal  arrest,  but  rather 
in  a  freak  of  popular  humour,  and  led  him 
up  the  rough  stone  steps  to  the  eminence 
called  the  Hill  of  Mars,  where  the  courts 
were  wont  to  sit  in  the  open  air.  They 
placed  St  Paul  on  the  spot  from  which 
accused  persons  spoke  in  their  own  defence; 
and  then  taking  their  places  as  judges,  they 
said  to  the  apostle:  "May  we  know  what 
this  new  teaching  is  which  is  spoken  by 
thee } "  They  had  no  real  hunger  of  soul,  no 
trouble  of  conscience,  no  deep  religious  feeling 
of  any  kind ;  but  were  actuated  by  that  intel- 
lectual  curiosity  which  was  one  of  their  strong 
popular  characteristics.  If  this  Jew  knew  any- 
thing which  they  knew  not,  let  him  speak. 


152  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

By  the  grace  of  God,  St  Paul  made  admir- 
able use  of  his  opportunity.      Speaking  to  a 
heathen  audience,  he  founded  nothing  on  Jew- 
ish history,  quoted  nothing  from  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures.     He   took  the  Greeks  on  grounds 
which  they  might  be  expected  to  acknowledge, 
and  made  citations  from  their  own  poets.     The 
address  which   he   uttered  on  the  spur  of  the 
moment   could   not   have   been  more  skilfully 
framed  and  worded,  if  he  had  spent  days  in 
preparing  it ;  and  this  was  well,  for  in  no  part 
of  the  world  could  he  have  found  an  audience 
so  fond  of  rhetoric  and  so  keen  to  criticise.     It 
was  no  ordinary  task  which  the  apostle  set  him- 
self to  accomplish,  to  conciliate  and  interest  an 
Athenian  crowd,  while  rebuking  their  national 
self-complacency  and   exposing   the   errors   of 
their   philosophers ;   and  then  to  proclaim  on 
Mars  Hill,  as  he  had  already  in  a  more   col- 
loquial manner  announced  in  the  Market-place, 
Jesus  and  the  Resurrection. 

The  Authorised  Version  has,  in  the  opening 
sentence  of  the  speech,  the  phrase  "  too  super- 
stitious." The  Revised  Version  gives  "some- 
what superstitious  ; "  but  the  American  Revisers 
suggested  "very  religious."     It   is  difficult   to 


ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS.  I  53 

believe   that  so   skilful  a  speaker  as  St  Paul 
opened  with  an  expression  fitted  to  offend.    The! 
word  he  employed  is  the  comparative  of  an  ad-' 
jective,  which  means  divinitjjeanng,  and  was 
no  doubt  spoken  in  a  courteous  tone  and  with 
conciliatory  intention.     The  same  term  occurs 
five  times  in  Josephus,  and  always  in  a  respect- 
ful   sense.     So  we   understand   the  apostle  as 
saying — "  Athenians  !   I  perceive  that  you  are, 
more  than  others,  given  to  honour  divinities. 
Everything   around   me   shows   that    you   pay 
much  homage  to  your  gods."     Well  might  he 
say  so ;   for  Athens  was   full  of  temples  and 
sacred  statues.     An  ancient  author  asserts  that 
there  were  more  statues  at  Athens  than  in  all 
the  rest  of  Greece  put  together. 

The  altars  in  the  city,  and  the  statues  of  gods 
and  goddesses  were  abhorrent  to  St  Paul  both  as 
a  Jew  and  as  a  Christian.  They  pained  his  soul  as 
he  walked  through  the  streets;  but  among  them 
he  noticed  an  altar  inscribed,  not  to  gods  in  the 
plural,  not  even  to  one  god  by  name,  but  "  to  K 
the  unknown  God."  Ancient  writers  have  been 
quoted  to  corroborate  the  fact  that  such  altars 
existed  in  Greece ;  but  it  is  unnecessary  for  us 
to  pursue  any  inquiry  into  their  origin'or  inten- 


154  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

tion.  What  is  material  is  the  view  which  St 
Paul  took  of  the  altar  in  question,  and  the  ad- 
vantage to  which  he  turned  it  in  his  speech. 
He  adverted  to  it  as  a  confession  of  the  inade- 
quacy of  the  Greek  Polytheism,  notwithstand- 
ing all  its  aids  from  poetry  and  sculpture. 
"Lo,"  said  the  Christian  preacher,  "the  God 
who  is  God  in  truth,  and  whom  indeed  you 
know  not.  Him  declare  I  unto  you  !" 
/  In  all  the  annals  of  eloquence,  a  more  felici- 
tous introduction  is  not  to  be  found.  One  skil- 
ful turn  of  thought  and  expression,  and  the 
orator  was  in  the  heart  of  his  subject,  declaring 
I  the  supremacy  and  spirituality  of  God.  It  was 
'  not  like  speaking  to  Jews  who  acknowledged  one 
God,  and  professed  reverence  for  His  prophets. 
Among  the  Greeks  it  was  necessary  to  begin 
with  the  doctrine  of  one  God  against  many; 
"  the  God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things 
that  are  therein."  How,  too,  we  find  in  Paul's 
public  speaking  a  recollection  of  that  address 
of  Stephen  which  had  so  burnt  itself  into 
his  memory.  He  followed  Stephen  also  in 
quoting  from  Solomon — "  The  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with 
hands." 


ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS.  £55 

In  his  teaching  concerning  God  (ver.  24-29) 
the  apostle  spoke  as  in  response  to  the  request 
that  he  would  explain  his  doctrine ;  but  in  doing 
so,  he  struck  a  series  of  heavy  blows  at  the 
views  which  pervaded  his  audience.  The  Epi- 
cureans disbelieved  in  any  creation  of  matter, 
and  the  Stoics  made  God  immanent  in  matter. 
But  St  Paul  said  that  the  God  whom  he  served 
"  made  the  world  and  all  things  therein."  Then 
the  multitude  were  proud  of  the  temples  and 
their  exq3nsitdy:_chjs^elled  statues  both  in  metal 
anci  in  marble ;  and  this  Jewish  preacher,  stand- 
ing there  in  full  view  of  the  colossal  Pallas 
Athene  on  the  summit  of  the  Acropolis,  the 
guardian  goddess  of  the  city,  spoke  of  a  "  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth  "  who  would  not  dwell  in 
the  most  beautiful  temple  that  man  could  rear, 
and  could  not  be  represented  in  "  gold  or  silver 
or  stone,  graven  by  art  and  man's  device." 
Again,  the  Epicureans  said  that  the  gods  were 
far  away,  living  at  ease,  and  careless  of  man- 
kind ;  but  Paul  said  the  very  opposite — "  He  is 
not  far  from  each  one  of  us." 

In  his  teaching  regarding  man,  the  apostle 
also  ran  counter  to  his  audience.  The  Greeks, 
especially  those  of  Attica,  were  very  vain   of 


156  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

-   their  extraction,  boasting  that  they  were  au- 
tochthonous.    Other   nations  were  held  to  [be 
inferior  races,  and  were  contemptuously  styled 
barbarians.     In  direct  contradiction  of  this,  St 
Paul  affirmed  that  God  had  "  made  of  one  every 
nation  of  men  to  dwell  on  the  face  of  earth." 
y  He  also  taught   that  all   men  held  the  same 
natural  relation  to  God.     All  are  so  constituted 
^that  they  seek   their   best  interest  when  they 
seek  Him  ;  and  all  are  so  near  to  Him  that  "  in 
Him  they  live,  and  move,  and  have  their  being." 
In  support  of  this  he  could  not  quote  Scripture 
to  the  heathen,  so  he  cited  certain  of  their  own 
poets  who   designated   man  "the   offspring  of 
God."     The  reference  was  to  Aratus  of  Cihcia, 
a  countryman  of  Paul,  whose  verses   he   had 
doubtless  read  at  Tarsus  ;  but  he  said  "  poets  " 
because  the  same  sentiment  is  found  in  a  hymn 
to  Zeus,  by  Cleanthes.     But  if  this  was  a  fact, 
and  no  mere  poet's  dream,  what  was  the  worth 
of  all  those  images  t     They  could  not  set  forth 
the  real  nature  and  all-pervasive  power  of  God. 
Here  is  the  true  argument  against  the  popular 
use  of  images  and  pictures  to  represent  Divine 
existence.     It  limits  and  lowers  in  the  human 
mind  what  it  attempts  to  illustrate. 


ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS.  I  57 

The  Greeks  confidently  assumed  their  own 
intellectual  illumination.  St  Paul_jdjd__not 
scruple  to  say  that  with  reference  to  God 
they  had  lived  in  darkness.  The,  ages  during 
which  heathenism  had  covered  Greece,  and  all 
the  world  but  little  Palestine,  had  been  "  times 
of  ignorance."  Individual  Greeks,  indeed,  had 
appeared  in  those  past  times  who  saw  and  knew 
far  more  than  the  multitude.  If  Socrates  and 
Plato  were  not,  in  the  full  sense  of  the  term, 
"  children  of  light,"  they  had  bright  gleams  of 
lofty  thought  and  wisdom.  But  a  few  sparks, 
or  shooting  rays  of  light,  could  not  lift  off  the 
burden  of  darkness  from  the  world ;  and  ignor- 
ance of  God  and  of  righteousness  brooded  over 
the  nations,  even  over  that  fair  city  of  Athens, 
brightest  home  of  ancient  thought  and  culture. 
In  His  sublime  patience,  God  had  endured 
those  long-drawn  "  times  of  ignorance  ;"  had  not 
looked  on  them  with  an  eye  of  severe  scrutiny 
but  glanced  quite  over  them  and  past  them, 
contemplating  the  day  of  Christ,  the  rising  of 
that  True  light.  The  apostle  pronounced  no 
opinion  on  the  state  of  those  who  had  died  in 
the  former  ignorance  ;  but  he  boldly  announced 
to  his  hearers  that  now  was  the  crisis  of  the  world 


158  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

now  was  dawning  a  new  age  on  Greece  and  on 
all  countries  to  which  the  Gospel  came : 
"  Now  God  commandeth  men  that  they  should 
all  everywhere  repent." 

A  command  strange  to  Athenian  ears  !  The 
people  were  in  their  usual  lively  superficial 
mood,  full  of  curiosity,  ready  for  discussion, 
but  without  any  concern  about  sin,  or  serious 
desire  of  emancipation  from  its  power.  And 
this  Jewish  stranger,  instead  of  seeking  their 
applause,  wanted  to  smite  their  consciences, 
and  asserted  that  there  was  only  one  God,  and 
that  He  commanded  Greeks,  and  all  men  alike, 
to  repent !  What  a  blow  to  the  Stoics  in  the 
crowd  !  Those  champions  of  strict  virtue — 
were  they  to  be  put  on  a  level  with  other  men, 
and  commanded  to  repent .?  And  what  an 
annoyance  to  the  Epicureans  !  Those  philo- 
sophers of  pleasure — were  they  to  subject  them- 
selves to  reproofs  of  conscience,  and  to  undergo 
moral  pain } 

The  messengers  of  God  had  long  reasoned 
with  Israel  concerning  repentance.  The  pro- 
phets, the  Baptist,  the  Saviour  Himself  had 
remonstrated  with  the  chosen  nation  on  their 
departure  or  declension  from  the  God  of  their 


ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS.  I  59 

fathers,  and  charged  them  to  repent  and  return. 
There  [is  a  famous  instance  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment of  a  heathen  king  and  people  repenting 
toward  God,  and  finding  mercy.  It  is  that  of 
the  king  and  people  of  Nineveh  ;  but  we  cannot 
say  that  the  prophet  Jonah  preached  repent- 
ance in  their  streets.  He  only  sounded  a 
warning  of  doom.  They  heard  and  repented. 
But  when  Jesus  Christ  had  risen  from  the  dead, 
He  gave  a  new  commandment  to  His  apostles. 
They  were  to  preach  "repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  in  His  name  unto  all  nations."  Hence 
the  statement  of  St  Paul  that  repentance  was 
now  proclaimed  to  and  required  of  all  mankind. 

With  repentance  toward  God  was  always 
joined  in  the  apostle's  mind,  faith  toward  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  He  would  no  doubt  have 
proceeded  to  inculcate  this,  if  his  speech  had 
not  been  interrupted.  He  was  leading  on  to 
the  mention  of  the  Saviour's  name  when  the 
interruption  took  place. 

And  how  was  he  leading  on  to  this  ?  It  was 
of  no  use  to  speak  to  the  Athenians  of  an 
expected  Messiah,  or  of  deliverance  from  the 
condemnation  incurred  under  Moses'  law,  as  he 
might  have  spoken  to  Jews  and  proselytes.     He 


t6o  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

must  put  forward  some  truth  for  which  the 
heathen  mind  was  in  some  measure  prepared. 
And  he  selected  the  truth  of  a  future  judgment 
of  mankind,  just  as  St  Peter  had  done  in  speak- 
ing to  Gentiles  at  Caesarea.*  The  Greeks 
believed  in  three  judges  before  whom  disem- 
bodied men  should  stand  to  receive  reward  or 
doom.  St  Paul  told  them  that  God  had 
ordained  One  Man  to  "judge  the  world  in 
righteousness."  There  was  a  grave  significance 
in  such  a  statement  as  made  by  one  whom  the 
Athenians  were  lightly  judging  in  that  court  of 
Areopagus,  famous  throughout  all  the  pro- 
vinces and  islands  of  Greece.  The  quickwitted 
crowd  perceived  the  bearing  of  it,  and,  being 
vain  and  shallow-minded,  shook  it  off. 

The  point  at  which  they  interrupted  was  St 
Paul's  affirmation  that  the  Judge  of  all  was  a 
Man  whom  God  had  raised  from  the  dead.  He 
was  endeavouring  to  fix  their  thoughts  on  the 
Man  of  God's  right  hand,  and  to  awaken  within 
their  breasts  some  nobler  curiosity  to  learn 
who  and  what  this  "  one  Man "  might  be 
whose  name  he  had  not  pronounced.  But  they 
counted  his  words  to  be  folly,  and  so  never 
*  Acts  X.  47. 


ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS.  l6l 

heard  even  the  name  of  Jesus.  Some  mocked. 
Others  more  polite,  but  with  no  more  grave 
intention,  said,  "We  will  hear  thee  con- 
cerning this  yet  again."  They  could  believe 
in  heroes  raised  to  be  gods,  but  not  in  a  man 
raised  from  the  dead  and  continuing  to  be  a 
man.  This  Jew  might  speak  to  them  about 
the  nature  of  God,  for  that  was  an  accepted 
topic  among  the  philosophers,  and  he  spoke 
well,  and  knew  the  poets ;  but  once  he  began 
to  speak  of  a  man's  resurrection  from  the  realms 
of  the  dead,  it  seemed  to  the  Athenians  a  waste 
of  time  to  listen  to  him.  His  statement  was 
beneath  the  consideration  of  educated  men. 
They  were  not  angry  enough  to  imprison  or 
kill  St  Paul,  as  their  fathers  killed  Socrates 
by  poison  near  that  very  spot,  for  what  they 
called  impiety,  but  really  for  knowing  more 
divinity  than  they  did  themselves.  They 
managed,  however,  to  rid  themselves  of  the 
apostle's  presence  as  effectually  as  if  they  had 
put  him  to  death.  They  treated  his  message 
with  contumely,  and  would  not  hear  another 
word,  though  he  had  brought  his  speech  to  the 
very  point  when  he  was  about  to  preach  Jesus, 
and  to  tell  them  of  that  faith  in  Him  by  which 
L 


1 62  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

they  might  become  more  and  better  than  phi- 
losophers—  saints.     He  let  them  put  him   to 
silence.      He   did   not    gesticulate   and   shout 
against  the  clamour.   He  had  too  great  a  respect 
for  the  Gospel  to  force  it  on  the  people.     He 
had    too   much   reverence    for    his   Master   in 
heaven,  to  bawl  out  His  name  in  the  ears  of 
those  mockers.     They  had  brought  him  to  that 
spot,  and   had   asked   him  to  speak.     If  they 
would    not   listen,  his  responsibility   was    ex- 
hausted, his  task  was  done.     "  Thus  Paul  went 
out    from   among    them."      We  can    see  him 
grave^  and    sadly  descending  the  steps  from 
the  hill  to  the  city,  which  he  soon  left  never  to 
revisit.     Often  as  he  sailed  along  that  coast  in 
after  years,  long  as  he  stayed  at  the  neighbour- 
ing city  of  Corinth,  he  appears  never  to  have 
set    foot    again    in   Athens,   or    finished    that 
masterly  speech  which  a  frivolous  crowd  had 
broken  with  their  mockery. 

The  mission  to  Athens  seemed  to  be  a  failure. 
Yet  not  quite.  A  little  flock  was  gathered  even 
there.  One  of  the  judges  of  the  Areopagus 
showed  himself  willing  to  bear  the  reproach  of 
Christ ;  also  a  woman  of  whom  we  know 
nothing  but   the   name,  but  of  whom   we   are 


ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS.  I  63 

Specially  glad  to  hear,  because  her  case  is  one 
of  a  series  in  which  this  missionary  tour  of  St 
Paul  reaped  among  women  good  fruits  from  the 
women's  prayer-meeting  at  Philippi.*  Besides 
Lydia,  we  learn  that  "  a  certain  maid  "  at  Phi- 
lippi  was  saved  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Pythonic  spirit  being  exorcised.  At  Thessa- 
lonica  among  the  first  Christians  were  "  of 
the  chief  women  not  a  few."  At  Beroea  also 
there  were  *'  of  the  Greek  women  of  honour- 
able estate  not  a  few."  And  now,  at  Athens, 
"a  woman  named  Damaris."  Others  joined 
Dionysius  and  Damaris,  and  a  little  Church 
was  formed  which  continued  and  flourished  at 
Athens  for  centuries.  So  the  apparent  defeat 
of  St  Paul  turned  out  an  ultimate  victory.  The 
Athenian  gods  were  weak  before  the  Man  whom 
Paul  preached,  whom  God  had  raised  from  the 
dead. 

How  little  after  all  did  that  heathen  Athens 
know !  With  all  its  brilliant  succession  of 
philosophers,  orators,  statesmen,  soldiers,  artists, 
and  poets,  what  darkness  brooded  over  the  city 
as  compared  with  the  celestial  light  which  that 
one  man,  Paul  of  Tarsus,  carried  in  his  breast! 

*  Acts  xvi.  13-18;  xvii.  4,  12,  34. 


164  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

What  an  element  in  civilisation  and  genuine 
culture  is  wanting  when  religious  knowledge 
and  conviction  are  left  out  or  are  degraded  and 
misled  by  superstition  !  One  may  see  it  in  our 
modern  Christendom.  Superstition  has  for 
many  generations  lain  as  an  incubus  on  certain 
Christian  nations.  And  now  an  Agnostic  and 
Christ-ignoring  education  is  coming  into  vogue, 
which  laughs  not  at  superstition  only,  but  at 
all  revealed  religion.  Many  seem  to  hail  it  in 
the  interest  of  liberty,  knowledge,  and  social 
progress.  We  believe  that  it  is  the  way  to 
darkness  and  social  chaos.  They  are  the  wise 
who  have  the  fear  of  the  Lord  :  and  they  are 
the  freemen,  whom  the  truth  makes  free.  • 

The  Athenians  were  willing  to  make  room  for 
new  divinities,  but  with  an  easy  tolerance  which 
betrayed  their  lack  of  reverential  faith  in  any 
god.  A  similar  spirit  is  abroad  at  the  present 
day,  even  in  our  own  cities.  Men  are  so  kind 
as  to  say  that  they  do  not  wish  to  interfere  with 
existing  creeds  and  ancient  institutions.  Let 
them  remain  for  what  they  are  worth.  Let 
every  one  keep  the  tradition  or  belief  that  suits 
him.  If  he  be  under  a  delusion  why  disturb 
him,  or  deprive  l^im  of  what  he  finds  to  be  help- 


ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS.  I  65 

ful  ?  At  the  same  time,  if  any  one  has  any 
more  light  to  communicate,  by  all  means  let  his 
light  shine.  There  is  room  for  him  too,  and  for 
his  doctrine.  We  have  grown  very  broad  in 
our  views,  very  tolerant  all  round.  We  allow 
something  to  be  said  for  this,  and  something 
for  that ;  and  then  we  find  an  element  of  much 
value  in  a  third  view  which  appears  to  contra- 
dict both  the  others.  But  is  not  faith  in  the 
absolute  truth  of  any  doctrine  whatever  con- 
cerning God  and  Jesus  Christ  slipping  away 
under  these  plausible  phrases }  Are  not  men 
often  easy  and  tolerant  because  they  have  no 
strong  conviction  or  deep  feeling  of  things  un- 
seen ?  You  may  detect  them  by  a  simple  ex- 
periment. Bring  y6ur  holy  doctrine  to  the 
reproof  of  their  vainglory,  and  see  how  soon 
they  chafe  and  mock.  Deal  with  their  con- 
sciences, and  preach  to  them  Christ  and  His 
future  judgment  of  them  and  all  men  in 
righteousness,  and  see  how  soon  they  grow  im- 
patient and  shut  their  ears. 

Wisdom  is  neither  with  the  mocking  crowd 
nor  with  the  supercilious  philosophers.  Diony- 
sius  and  Damaris  showed  a  more  excellent  way. 
The  gospel  which  others  slighted  they  embraced. 


1 66  ST  PAUL  TO  THE  ATHENIANS. 

The  command  to  repent  which  others  scouted 
they  obeyed.  The  warning  of  judgment  which 
others  cast  from  them  they  laid  to  heart.  The 
Man  of  God's  right  hand,  the  risen  Lord,  whom 
all  around  them  rejected,  they  adhered  to  and 
honoured  as  the  mighty  Saviour  not  of  the  Jews 
only,  but  also  of  the  Greeks. 


ST  PAUL  TO   PRESBYTERS  AT   MILETUS. 

"And  when  they  were  come  to  him,  he  said  unto  them,  Ye 
yourselves  know,  from  the  first  day  that  I  set  foot  in  Asia,  after 
what  manner  I  was  with  you  all  the  time,  serving  the  Lord  with 
all  lowliness  of  mind,  and  with  tears,  and  with  trials  which  be- 
fell me  by  the  plots  of  the  Jews  :  how  that  I  shrank  not  from 
declaring  unto  you  anything  that  was  profitable,  and  teaching 
you  publicly  and  from  house  to  house,  testifying  both  to  Jews 
and  to  Greeks  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  spirit 
unto  Jerusalem,  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me 
there  :  save  that  the  Holy  Ghost  testifieth  unto  me  in  every  city, 
saying  that  bonds  and  afflictions  abide  me.  But  I  hold  not  my 
life  of  any  account,  as  dear  unto  myself,  so  that  I  may  accom- 
plish my  course,  and  the  ministry  which  I  received  from  the 
Lord  Jesus,  to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  And  now 
behold,  I  know  that  ye  all,  among  whom  I  went  about  preach- 
ing the  kingdom,  shall  see  my  face  no  more.  Wherefore  I  testify 
unto  you  this  day,  that  I  am  pure  from  the  blood  of  all  men. 
For  I  shrank  not  from  declaring  unto  you  the  whole  counsel  of 
God.  Take  heed  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock,  in  the 
which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  bishops,  to  feed  the 
church  of  God,  which  he  purchased  with  his  own  blood.  I 
know  that  after  my  departing  grievous  wolves  shall  enter  in 
among  you,  not  sparing  the  flock ;  and  from  among  your  own 
selves  shall  men  arise,  speaking  perverse  things,  to  draw  away 
the  disciples  after  them.  Wherefore  watch  ye,  remembering 
that  by  the  space  of  three  years  I  ceased  not  to  admonish  every 


I  68  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

one  night  and  day  with  tears.  And  now  I  commend  you  to 
God,  and  to  the  word  of  his  grace,  which  is  able  to  build  you 
up,  and  to  give  you  the  inheritance  among  all  them  that  are 
sanctified.  I  coveted  no  man's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel.  Ye 
yourselves  know  that  these  hands  ministered  unto  my  necessities, 
and  to  them  that  were  with  me.  In  all  things  I  gave  you  an 
example,  how  that  so  labouring  ye  ought  to  help  the  weak,  and 
to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he  himself  said, 
It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." — Acts  xx.  18-35. 

THIS  is  not  a  speech  to  the  people,  but  a 
charge  to  officers  of  the  Church.      We 
may  characterise  it  as  the  first  specimen  of  the 
kind.     It  is  true  that  our  Lord  gave  solemn 
charge  and  admonition  both  to  the  Seventy  and 
to  the  Twelve  ;  but  this  is  the  first  instance  of 
such   an    address   delivered   by   a    servant    of 
Christ   to   fellow-servants   in   the  Church.      If 
any  one  had   a  good  right    to    admonish    his 
brethren    it   certainly   was   St    Paul,   both   on 
account  of  his  now  well-established   apostolic 
dignity,  and  because  of  his  devoted  labours  in 
the  gospel  of  Christ.     In  no  place  had  these 
labours  been  more  abundant  than  in  the  region 
of  Asia  Minor,  and  especially  in  the  city  and 
neighbourhood  of  Ephesus.     Accordingly,  as  he 
sailed  along  that  coast  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem, 
not  having  time  for  a  visit  to  that  city,  yet  not 
willing  to  lose  the  opportunity  of  some  inter- 


AT  MILETUS.  1 69 

course  with  the  Ephesian  Church,  he  asked  the 
elders  or  bishops  of  that  Church  to  meet  him  at 
the  seaport  town  of  Miletus.  It  is  impossible 
to  say  how  many  were  in  the  local  Presbytery — 
perhaps  a  score.  They  at  once  went  down  by 
road  to  Miletus,  and  had  an  interview  with  the 
apostle,  which  is  fresh  in  the  thoughts  of  men 
to  this  day,  long  after  both  Ephesus  and  Mile- 
tus have  fallen  to  ruins. 

This  speech,  as  reported,  is  full  of  St  Paul's 
finest  traits  —  his  sensitiveness,  tenderness, 
faithfulness,  and  firmness. 

I.  He  appealed  to  the  elders  in  regard  to 
their  knowledge  of  his  Christian  life  and 
ministry.  He  did  so  with  a  frankness  as  far 
removed  from  foolish  pride  as  from  strained 
humility.  And  he  did  it  for  three  reasons  : — 
(i)  To  lay  it  on  the  consciences  of  those  elders, 
that  they  should  not  permit  his  name  and 
authority  to  be  disparaged  in  his  absence ;  (2) 
to  give  moral  force  to  the  exhortations  which 
he  meant  to  address  to  them  ;  (3)  to  set  before 
them  an  example  which  they  ought  to  follow. 
In  those  days  there  were  no  books  on  the 
Christian  life  or  pastoral  care  in  circulation. 
Paul  himself  had  to  be  a  book  and  a  model  to 


I  70  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

those  Ephesian  brethren.  Let  them  be  imitators 
of  him,  as  he  also  was  of  Christ. 

The  references  to  personal  labour  and  suffer- 
ing are  strewn  all  over  the  speech.  It  is  in- 
structive to  observe  that  the  apostle  first 
appealed  to  the  knowledge  which  the  elders 
had  of  his  life,  and  then  reminded  them  of  his 
doctrine.  His  manner  of  life  showed  the  value 
he  put  upon  the  doctrine,  and  the  powerful  in- 
fluence which  it  was  fitted  to  exert  over  those 
who  heartily  believed  and  confessed  it.  Teach- 
ing, however  clear,  if  unsupported  by  the  life  of 
the  teacher,  carries  but  a  faint  and  doubtful  im- 
pression to  the  hearts  of  those  who  see  and  hear 
him. 

It  gave  St  Paul  an  immense  power  in  ad- 
dressing the  elders  from  Ephesus  that  he  could 
thus  fearlessly  recall  to  their  remembrance  his 
devotion  to  the  Lord,  whom  he  had  served 
among  them  with  a  lowly  mind  and  in  the  face 
of  trial  ^and  danger,  and  his  assiduity  in  the 
Church  while  teaching  both  publicly  and  from 
house  to  house.  He  had  admonished  all  who 
would  listen  to  him  at  Ephesus  with  a  fidelity 
that  cleared  him  of  blame  for  the  death  of  any 
sinner   impenitent,  with  a  thoroughness  which 


AT  MILETUS.  I  7  I 

kept  back  no  part  of  the  Divine  counsel  that 
was  within  his  cognisance,  and  at  the  same  time 
with  a  tenderness  of  feeUng  which  had  often 
poured  tears  from  his  eyes. 

Tears  are  mentioned  three  times  in  this  inter- 
view at  Miletus.  No  one  who  understands  the 
character  of  St  Paul  will  infer  that  he  was  of  a 
weak  or  effeminate  nature.  On  the  contrary,  he 
was  signalised  by  masculine  energy  and  splendid 
courage ;  but  it  was  quite  consistent  with  this, 
and  a  mark  of  the  true  greatness  of  the  man, 
that  he  had  a  quick  and  deep  sensibility  passing 
the  tenderness  of  women.  So  at  Miletus  (i)  he 
spoke  of  the  tears  which  had  been  pressed  from 
his  eyes  by  the  trials  encountered  in  his  minis- 
try, and  especially  by  the  deadly  hatred  shown 
to  him  by  his  own  nation — "  the  plots  of  the 
Jews ; "  (2)  he  recalled  his  tears  of  pastoral 
anxiety  at  Ephesus,  when  he  was  earnestly 
watching  for  souls ;  (3)  the  elders  wept  sore 
when  they  learned  that  the  apostle  was  now 
leaving  them,  with  no  hope  or  intention  to  re- 
turn. We  do  not  read  that  he  wept ;  but  we 
feel  very  sure  that  his  eyes  were  not  dry  as  he 
turned  from  those  weeping  friends,  stepped  on 
board  the  ship,  and  sailed  away. 


172  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

Another  point  on  which  the  apostle  laid  some 
stress  was  his  disinterestedness  in  the  Lord's 
service.  From  more  than  one  of  his  epistles 
we  perceive  that  he  was  keenly  sensitive  to  any 
imputation  of  self-seeking  motives ;  and  he 
knew  that  he  was  exposed  to  insinuations  of 
this  sort  from  hostile  and  envious  tongues  in 
all  the  cities  which  he  had  visited.  It  was  then 
as  it  is  now.  Those  who  love  money  and  live 
for  it  are  always  ready  to  believe  that  others 
love  money,  and  to  allege  that  every  one  is 
mercenary.  They  are  particularly  fond  of 
insinuating  that  those  who  teach  and  spread 
religion  do  so  merely  to  get  a  living  thereby. 

To  silence  such  calumnies  the  apostle  had 
worked  with  his  hands  at  Ephesus  for  his  own 
support  and  that  of  his  companions.  It  is 
scarcely  necessary  for  ministers  of  the  word 
in  our  modern  cities  to  take  such  steps  for 
the  vindication  of  their  motives.  Intelligent 
congregations  know  that  they  would  be  the 
losers  and  sufferers  if  their  pastors  were  to 
occupy  themselves  day  after  day  with  manual 
work  or  worldly  business  for  the  support  of 
their  families  and  themselves.  Every  minister 
of  the  Word  is  not  a  Paul  ;  and  if  pastors  were 


AT  MILETUS.  I  "J 2, 

not  relieved  from  toil  for  their  own  support,  the 
flocks  would  be  ill-guarded  and  ill-fed.  It  can- 
not be  too  strongly  put  or  too  clearly  under- 
stood, that  ministerial  support  in  the  form  of 
stipend  or  "  living "  is  provided  in  the  interest 
of  the  Church,  i.e.  of  the  Christian  assembly, 
and  not  of  the  ministry  as  a  privileged  caste. 
Better  for  preachers  and  teachers  of  religion  to 
renounce  ministry  for  ever  than  to  pursue  it  for 
"  silver  or  gold,  or  apparel."  But  if  they  are 
pursuing  ministry  with  higher  motives,  better 
for  the  Church,  at  least  in  educated  communi- 
ties, to  provide  them  with  such  things  temporal 
as  they  have  need  of,  in  order  that  they  may 
more  effectively  watch  over  and  nourish  the 
flock  of  God. 

We  must  also  freely  admit  that  cases  may 
still  occur  in  which  it  would  be  incumbent  on 
a  missionary  to  follow  this  apostle's  example. 
If  he  were  labouring  among  very  poor  people, 
he  might  best  win  their  affection  by  sharing 
their  lot ;  or,  if  he  were  trying  to  introduce  the 
gospel  among  a  population  suspicious  of  his 
motives,  and  therefore  prejudiced  against  his 
testimony,  he  might  do  well  to  meet  his  per- 
sonal necessities  by  the  labour  of  his  own 
hands,  that  the  gospel  might  not  be  hindered. 


I  74  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

When  St  Paul  had  thus  appealed  to  the 
elders  in  regard  to  the  spirit  and  manner  of 
his  ministry  at  Ephesus,  he  also  reminded  them 
of  the  great  theme  on  which  he  had  ^d welt  both 
in  public  and  in  private.  It  was  the  same 
gospel  which  he  had  everywhere  delivered, 
alike  to  Jews  and  Gentiles ;  and  it  comprised 
"repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  toward 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Not  a  word  did  the 
apostle  say  of  the  "  special  miracles "  which 
God  had  wrought  by  him  at  Ephesus,*  for 
such  signs  and  wonders  were  exceptional  in 
their  character,  and  not  permanent  accompani- 
ments of  the  gospel ;  but  he  was  emphatic 
on  these  two  indispensable  things — repentance 
and  faith — for  these  brought  salvation  home, 
and  these  were  themes  to  be  handled  by  the 
elders,  and  all  others  at  Ephesus,  who  should 
thereafter  proclaim  and  teach  the  gospel  of 
grace. 

This  was  the  very  expression  of  St  Paul — 
"to  testify  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of  God." 
He  also  spoke  of  preaching  "the  kingdom;" 
and  of  declaring  "  the  whole  counsel  of  God." 
Such  had  been  his  ministry  at  all  costs  and 

*  Acts  xix.  II,  12, 


AT  MILETUS.  175 

risks  ;  and  his  ardent  desire  was  that  the  elders 
should  continue  the  faithful  testimony,  and 
preach  the  same  and  no  other  gospel  to  both 
Jews  and  Greeks. 

II.  Having  reminded  the  elders  of  his  past 
labours,  St  Paul  proceeded  to  explain  to  them 
the  reason  of  this  interview  and  address.  He 
was  on  his  way  to  Jerusalem,  and  knew  that 
his  visit  to  that  city  would  be  at  the  peril 
of  his  life. 

At  this  point  we  are  much  struck  with  the 
apostle's  conformity  to  the  sufferings  of  his 
Lord.  "It  came  to  pass,  when  the  days  were 
well  nigh  come  that  He  should  be  received  up, 
He  steadfastly  set  His  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem."* 
The  Master  took  no  counsel  with  flesh  and 
blood,  did  not  consult  even  His  most  intimate 
friends  among  the  disciples,  but  simply  assured 
them  "  that  He  must  go  unto  Jerusalem,  and 
suffer  many  things  of  the  elders  and  chief 
priests  and  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  the  third 
day  be  raised  up."f  His  apostles  were  most 
unwilling  that  He  should  cast  Himself  into 
such  danger.  One  of  them  went  so  far  as 
to   say — "  Be   it   far  from  Thee,  Lord !     This 

*  Luke  ix.  51.  f  Matt.  xvi.  21. 


I  76  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

shall  not  be  unto  Thee."  But  Jesus  replied 
by  a  prompt  rebuke.  Nothing  could  shake 
His  purpose.  So  he  calmly  pursued  His  way, 
the  disciples  attending  Him  with  misgiving  and 
fear.  "Jesus  was  going  before  them,  and  they 
were  amazed ;  and  they  that  followed  were 
afraid."* 

So  also  Christ's  servant,  Paul,  steadfastly  set 
his  face  to  go  to  Jerusalem,  knowing  that  he 
should  suffer  many  things.  And  he  too  was 
attended  by  disciples,  but  took  no  counsel 
from  them,  or  from  any  other  mortal  men. 
A  solemn  impression  of  duty  was  on  his  con- 
science. He  went  "bound  in  the  spirit;" 
and  only  told  to  his  companions  his  settled 
purpose.  Many  tried  to  dissuade  him.  At 
Tyre  and  at  Caesarea  very  earnest  efforts  were 
put  forth  to  arrest  his  perilous  progress,  but  in 
vain.  He  knew  not  what  things  should  befal 
him  at  Jerusalem,  as  his  Master  had  known  ; 
but  he  had  sufficient  presentiment  and  warning 
of  great  danger  awaiting  him  in  the  Jewish 
capital  to  make  his  obedience  to  the  heavenly 
indication  of  duty  truly  Christlike  and  heroic. 

Such  intrepid  persistence  as  this  was  made 

*  Mark  x.  32. 


AT  MILETUS.  I  77 

possible  to  St  Paul  simply  through  his  intense 
devotion  to  Christ  and  the  gospel,  a  devo- 
tion which  was  produced  and  maintained  within 
him  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  It 
was  no  longer  any  object  with  him  to  live  till 
old  age,  unless  his  life  could  be  of  service  to  the 
Master,  and  the  Master's  cause.  All  that  he 
wished  for  was  to  accomplish  his  course,  to 
fulfil  that  ministry  which  he  had  received,  not 
from  man,  but  from  the  Lord  Jesus.  He  never 
could  fulfil  that  ministry  if  he  did  not  obey  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  however  trying 
that  obedience  might  be  to  the  flesh  ;  and  he 
never  could  mar  that  ministry  or  end  it  pre- 
maturely if  he  followed,  even  through  "bonds 
and  afflictions,"  the  command  which  the  Lord 
by  the  Spirit  had  bound  upon  his  soul. 

HI.  With  these  touching  references  to  his 
own  past  and  future,  St  Paul  joined  exhorta- 
tion and  warning  to  the  Presbyter-Bishops  of 
Ephesus.  He  minded  them  that  the  same  Holy 
Ghost  whose  guidance  he  felt  bound  to  obey 
implicitly,  had  the  direction  of  their  duty  also. 
The  Holy  Ghost  had  made  them  overseers  or 
bishops  of  the  Christian  flock. 

Such    was   the    high    estimate    of    spiritual 
M 


178  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

office  in  the  primitive  Church.  It  did  not 
allow  those  bishops  to  lord  it  over  God's  heri- 
tage, but  it  required  them  to  bear  themselves 
as  the  organs  of  a  heavenly  power,  channels  of 
Divine  direction,  and  superintendents  of  a  spiri- 
tual province.  For  men  in  such  a  position  to 
assume  secular  office  and  authority,  would  be 
to  descend  from  their  true  dignity.  For  men 
in  such  a  position  to  allow  secular  power  to 
control  the  worship  and  government  of  the 
Church,  would  be  to  betray  their  solemn  spiri- 
tual trust. 

"  Take  heed  to  yourselves  !  "  O  wise  and  faith- 
ful word !  Oversight  of  one's  self  is  certainly 
the  first  requirement  for  a  judicious  oversight  of 
others.  It  is  a  charge  to  be  constantly  pressed 
on  the  consciences  of  those  who  are  shepherds 
and  bishops  of  souls,  and  that  for  various 
reasons — (i.)  Their  acknowledged  religious  posi- 
tion tempts  them  to  take  their  spiritual  life  and 
health  for  granted,  and  to  relax  that  devout 
vigilance  over  themselves  which  other  Chris- 
tians find  so  indispensable.  (2.)  While  they 
neglect  introspection,  and  yet  perform  their 
public  functions  in  the  Church  with  all  regu- 
larity, they  tend  to  become  mere  religious  hacks^ 


AT  MILETUS.  I  79 

and  grow  more  and  more  unfit  to  be  the  real 
channels  of  spiritual  guidance  to  others.  (3.) 
Because  of  their  position,  any  coldness  of  heart, 
or  inconsistency  of  life,  on  their  part,  does 
double  injury  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

In  modern  times,  this  counsel  needs  to  be 
given  also  to  the  many  amateur  directors  of 
religious  effort  who  have  sprung  up  on  every 
side — a  sort  of  self-appointed  bishops — and  also 
to  the  countless  critics  who  are  ready,  at  the 
shortest  notice,  to  pass  an  opinion—  generally 
an  unfavourable  one — on  the  religion  of  their 
neighbours.  Most  of  these  persons  pronounce 
far  too  freely  on  the  spiritual  condition  of  indi- 
viduals and  of  churches.  It  were  better  that 
they  should  take  heed  to  themselves,  and  re- 
serve their  strict  censures  for  their  own  faults. 

The  next  direction  to  the  Ephesian  Presbyters 
was — "  Take  heed  to  all  the  flock  in  which  the 
Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  bishops,  to  feed  the 
Church  of  God,  which  He  purchased  with  His 
own  blood."  The  Church  was  not  the  flock  of 
those  bishops.  It  was  forbidden  to  bishops  to 
"draw  away  disciples  after  them;''  and  it  would 
be  well  for  modern  Christian  shepherds  to  avoid 
such  expressions  as — "  My  church,"  "  my  flock," 


l8o  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

"my  congregation."  The  redeemed  people  of 
God  in  any  definite  place  as  a  city,  town, 
or  parish,  form  the  flock,  the  one  flock,  of 
God.  They  may  gather  in  portions  here  or 
there  for  worship  and  communion,  and  may 
vary  somewhat  in  their  forms  and  customs ; 
but  before  God,  they  are  still  one  flock.  The 
duty  of  the  bishops  in  each  place  (for  not  even 
the  smallest  Church  should  be  put  under  one 
bishop)  is  to  watch  over  and  feed  the  people 
of  God's  pasture,  and  sheep  of  His  hand,  divid- 
ing the  work  among  them  according  to  their 
ability.  To  "  feed  the  flock  "  is  indeed  a  com- 
prehensive expression,  including  instruction, 
guidance,  comfort,  and  discipline. 

As  the  shedding  of  tears  is  mentioned  three 
times  in  the  interview,  so  also  we  read  three 
times  of  the  shedding  of  blood,  or  laying  down 
of  the  life,  the  physical  basis  of  which  is  the 
blood,  (i.)  His  own  life  the  apostle  was  willing 
to  yield  up  at  Jerusalem  if  it  was  required  for 
the  service  of  Christ  and  the  Church.  (2.)  From 
the  blood  of  all  men  he  kept  himself  pure  by 
so  preaching  the  Gospel,  that  if  any  heard  and 
refused  it,  their  blood  would  be  on  their  own 
heads,  and  would  not  be  required  at  the  faithful 


AT  MILETUS.  l8l 

watchman's  hand.  (3.)  The  blood  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  by  which  the  flock  or  Church  of 
God  has  been  purchased,  St  Paul  thought  of 
with  reverent  joy  and  thankfulness,  and  referred 
to  it  in  order  to  remind  the  Elders  how  dear 
the  Church  was  to  God,  and  therefore  how  de- 
serving of  their  earnest  pastoral  care. 

The  apostle  counselled  the  elders  on  whom  all 
this  sacred  responsibility  rested  to  follow  his  own 
example  as  to  self-support.  At  Ephesus,  where 
it  had  been  so  common  to  practise  and  display 
pseudo-spiritual  arts  for  filthy  lucre's  sake,  *  it 
was  eminently  advisable  that  the  chiefs  of 
the  Christian  community  should  prove  them- 
selves thoroughly  disinterested  in  their  pious 
labours.  It  was  well  too  that  instead  of  being 
eager  to  receive,  they  should  show  an  example 
to  others  in  Christian  giving,  and  should  tax 
their  own  strength  in  order  to  help  the  weak. 

He  also  dropped  a  word  of  warning  which 
must  have  added  an  element  of  alarm  to  the 
sorrow  of  the  assembled  bishops.  He  foresaw 
that  after  his  departure  some  of  those  teachers 
of  error  who  in  so  many  places  tried  to  subvert 
his   teaching   and  influence,  would   appear   at 

*  Acts  xix.  13,  19. 


t82  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

Ephesus,  and  have  some  measure  of  success. 
Nay,  more ;  even  in  the  ranks  of  the  elders 
some  would  be  found  to  play  the  part  of  bad 
bishops,  wolves  instead  of  shepherds,  living  on 
the  flock  and  serving  themselves  of  the  silly 
sheep,  instead  of  living  for  the  flock  and  feeding 
it  in  the  counsel  and  love  of  God.  He  did  not 
expatiate  on  the  subject,  but  sounded  the  alarm 
— "  Watch  ! "  So  the  Saviour,  before  he  suffered 
at  Jerusalem,  indicated  to  the  disciples  that  they 
were  "not  all  clean."  He  indeed  saw  the  future 
more  clearly  than  His  servant,  Paul.  He  had 
more  than  a  general  foreboding  of  treason ;  He 
knew  "who  it  was  that  should  betray  Him." 

From  the  message  of  the  Lord  to  the  Ephe- 
sian  Church  delivered  through  St  John  at  the 
end  of  the  first  century,  we  learn  that  the  evil 
here  spoken  of  did  arise.  *  We  also  gather 
that  the  warning  of  St  Paul  had  not  been  with- 
out good  effect,  followed  up  as  it  must  have  been 
by  the  exhortations  of  St  John  during  his  long 
stay  at  Ephesus;  for  those  who  called  them- 
selves apostles,  but  were  not,  were  tried  and 
found  false,  and  the  Church  as  represented  by 
its  angel,  was  praised  for  having  rejected  those 
"  evil  men." 

*  Rev.  ii.  1-7. 


AT  MILETUS.  1 53 

IV.  As  he  departed,  St  Paul  commended 
these  brethren  to  God  and  to  the  word  of  His 
grace.  With  this  benediction  (ver.  32)  he  pro- 
bably meant  to  conclude ;  but  having  mentioned 
God's  munificent  gift  of  an  inheritance,  he  was 
moved  to  add  an  exhortation  on  the  blessed- 
ness of  giving. 

In  the  foresight  of  dangers  coming  on  those 
elders  as  well  as  on  himself,  St  Paul  prayerfully 
entrusted  them  to  God  who  guards  the  life  and 
keeps  the  feet  of  His  saints.  And  with  God  he 
joined  the  Gospel,  as  "the  word  of  His  grace.* 
By  God  and  the  Gospel  the  Church  at  Ephesus 
would  be  built  up.  The  false  and  perverse 
teachers  would  try  to  pull  it  down.  How  for- 
cibly must  the  language  about  the  building 
the  inheritance  have  been  recalled  to  the  minds 
of  the  elders,  when,  in  course  of  a  few  years, 
they  received  and  read  St  Paul's  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  in  which  he  dwelt  so  impressively 
both  on  the  building  together  of  Christians  into 
a  holy  temple,  and  on  the  inheritance  which 

*  Stier,  in  "Words  of  the  Apostles,"  thinks  it  is  "the  Inde- 
pendent Word  in  the  preached  word."  But  the  application  of 
the  title  Logos  to  Christ  is  peculiar  to  St  John,  and  not 
found  in  the  pages  of  St  Paul. 


184  ST  PAUL  TO  PRESBYTERS 

God  has  in  the  saints,  and  the  saints  have  in 
God!* 

How  again  we  are  reminded  of  the  action  of 
the  Saviour  in  commending  His  followers  to 
the  Divine  protection  before  he  suffered.  "  Holy- 
Father,  keep  them  in  Thy  name !  .  .  .  I  pray 
not  that  Thou  shouldest  take  them  out  of 
the  world,  but  that  Thou  shouldest  keep  them 
from  the  evil."  f 

At  the  end  of  other  apostolic  speeches,  we 
have  looked  for  the  result  in  the  conversion  of 
some  of  the  hearers,  the  conciliation  of  some 
who  had  been  hostile,  or  the  persuasion  of  some 
who  had  doubted.  In  this  case  we  see  the 
tribute  to  the  fitness  and  power  with  which  St 
Paul  had  spoken  in  the  solemn  feeling  that  fell 
on  the  listening  Elders  and  the  tears  that  flowed 
from  their  eyes.  Then  the  apostle  on  bended 
knees  prayed  with  them  all  :  after  which  they 
parted  with  every  sign  of  sorrowful  affection. 
Paul  loved  strongly,  and  was  strongly  loved. 

The  ser\'ant  is  as  his  Master :  but  the  Master 
is  above  the  servant  still.  Jesus  Christ  left  His 
disciples,  yet  did  not  leave  them  comfortless. 

*  Eph.  i.  2.  t  John  xvii.  11 -15. 


AT  MILETUS.  I  85 

Indeed,  in  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  He 
is  with  us  always.  We  do  not  see  His  face,  but 
we  feel  His  power,  and  taste  His  loving-kind- 
ness. Nor  may  we  say  that  we  shall  see  His 
face  no  more.  We  look  for  Him  ;  and  in  this 
we  rejoice  most  of  all  that  we  shall  see  His  face, 
and  His  name  will  be  on  our  foreheads.  O 
bright,  long-looked-for  day,  when  those  also 
whose  faces  we  have  lost  on  earth  with  tears  will 
re-appear,  and  with  them,  Paul  and  all  the  rest 
who  have  loved  the  Lord's  appearing,  wearing 
their  crowns  of  righteousness  !  We  have  sorrow 
when  faces  that  we  love  fade  away  in  death, 
like  the  face  of  Paul  as  the  ship  bore  him  away 
from  the  company  upon  the  shore;  but  we 
sorrow  not  as  others  who  have  no  hope.  "  Those 
who  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  Him." 


XL 

ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM. 

"  Brethren  and  fathers,  hear  ye  the  defence  which  I  now  make 
unto  you.  And  when  they  heard  that  he  spake  unto  them  in 
the  Hebrew  language,  they  were  the  more  quiet  :  and  he  saith, 
I  am  a  Jew,  born  in  Tarsus  of  Cilicia,  but  brought  up  in  this 
city,  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  instructed  according  to  the  strict 
manner  of  the  law  of  our  fathers,  being  zealous  for  God,  even  as 
ye  all  are  this  day  :  and  I  persecuted  this  Way  unto  the  death, 
binding  and  delivering  into  prisons  both  men  and  women.  As 
also  the  high  priest  doth  bear  me  witness,  and  all  the  estate  of 
the  elders  :  from  whom  also  I  received  letters  unto  the  brethren, 
and  journeyed  to  Damascus,  to  bring  them  also  which  were  there 
unto  Jerusalem  in  bonds,  for  to  be  punished.  And  it  came  to 
pass,  that,  as  I  made  my  journey,  and  drew  nigh  unto  Damascus, 
about  noon,  suddenly  there  shone  from  heaven  a  great  light 
round  about  me.  And  I  fell  unto  the  ground,  and  heard  a  voice 
saying  unto  me,  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  me  ?  And  I 
answered.  Who  art  thou.  Lord  ?  And  he  said  unto  me,  I  am 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom  thou  persecutest.  And  they  that  were 
with  me  beheld  indeed  the  light,  but  they  heard  not  the  voice  of 
him  that  spake  to  me.  And  I  said.  What  shall  I  do,  Lord  ? 
And  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  Arise,  and  go  into  Damascus  ;  and 
there  it  shall  be  told  thee  of  all  things  which  are  appointed 
for  thee  to  do.  And  when  I  could  not  see  for  the  glory  of  that 
light,  being  led  by  the  hand  of  them  that  were  with  me,  I  came 
into  Damascus.  And  one  Ananias,  a  devout  man  according  to 
the  law,  well  reported  of  by  all  the  Jews  that  dwelt  there,  came 
unto  me,  and  standing  by  me  said  unto  me,  Brother  Saul,  re- 


ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM.       I  87 

ceive  thy  sight.  And  in  that  very  hour  I  looked  up  on  him. 
And  he  said,  The  God  of  our  fathers  hath  appointed  thee  to 
know  his  will,  and  to  see  the  Righteous  One,  and  to  hear  a  voice 
from  his  mouth.  For  thou  shalt  be  a  witness  for  him  unto  all 
men  of  what  thou  hast  seen  and  heard.  And  now  why  tarriest 
thou  ?  arise,  and  be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling 
on  his  name.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  when  I  had  returned 
to  Jerusalem,  and  while  I  prayed  in  the  temple,  I  fell  into  a 
trance,  and  saw  him  saying  unto  me,  Make  haste,  and  get  thee 
quickly  out  of  Jerusalem  :  because  they  will  not  receive  of  thee 
testimony  concerning  me.  And  I  said,  Lord,  they  themselves 
know  that  I  imprisoned  and  beat  in  every  synagogue  them  that 
believed  on  thee  :  and  when  the  blood  of  Stephen  thy  witness 
was  shed,  I  also  was  standing  by,  and  consenting,  and  keeping 
the  garments  of  them  that  slew  him.  And  he  said  unto  me. 
Depart  :  for  I  will  send  thee  forth  far  hence  unto  the  Gentiles. " 
— Acts  xxii.  I -2 1. 


THIS  is  a  speech  to  an  excited  crowd,  made 
by  one  who  had  but  just  escaped  from 
their  clutches.  St  Paul  stood  on  the  stairs 
which  led  from  the  court  of  the  Temple  to  the 
tower  of  Anton ia,  protected  by  a  guard  of 
Roman  soldiers  from  a  surging  multitude  of 
Jews  who  filled  the  court  below,  and  pierced 
the  air  with  angry  outcries  for  his  life.  The 
apostle  calmly  surveyed  them,  and  having 
obtained  permission  from  the  Roman  officers, 
stretched  forth  his  hand — his  usual  oratorical 
gesture — and  began  to  speak.  A  sudden  silence 
fell  on  the  crowd,  and,  probably  for  the  first, 


I  88       ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM. 

certainly  for  the  last  time,  the  voice  of  this 
great  Witness  for  Christ  rang  through  the  courts 
of  the  national  sanctuary. 

We  are  struck  with — 

I.  The  love  to  his  nation  which  this  action  of 
St  Paul  evinced.  He  does  not  seem  to  have 
become  in  the  least  embittered  against  the  Jews 
by  all  that  he  had  suffered  from  their  cruel 
enmity  in  Asia  Minor,  in  Macedonia,  and  in 
Greece.  Nay,  though  he  had  but  narrowly 
escaped  sudden  and  violent  death  at  the  hands 
of  this  mob  in  Jerusalem,  and  saw  nothing 
but  fanatical  prejudice  and  unreasoning  hatred 
blazing  from  their  eyes  and  leaping  from  their 
throats,  he  would  not  turn  away  from  them  into 
the  tower  occupied  by  the  heathen  garrison  with- 
out one  intrepid  and  earnest  effort  to  persuade 
his  own  nation  of  the  claims  of  Jesus  as  the 
Lord  Christ,  and  to  abate  their  frantic  opposi- 
tion to  the  Gospel.  Even  in  that  moment  of 
sharp  emergency,  and  that  scene  of  angry 
tumult,  he  was  little  concerned  about  his  own 
life,  but  much  concerned  about  Israel's  blind- 
ness, and  anxious  to  fulfil  among  Jews  as  well 
as  Gentiles  the  ministry  which  he  had  received 
from  the  Lord  Jesus. 


ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM.        I  89 

2.  The  wonderful  composure  and  skill  with 
which  the  apostle  spoke.  How  evident  that  the 
Spirit  of  wisdom  and  power  was  with  him  ! 

It  was  well  judged  to  turn  from  the  Greek 
language  which  he  commonly  spoke,  and  in 
which  he  had  addressed  the  Roman  officer,  to 
the  Hebraic,  i.e.,  not  pure  Hebrew,  but  the 
Syriac  dialect  which  was  the  vernacular  speech 
of  Palestine  at  the  period.  This  seemed  to 
imply  that  he  was  one  of  themselves,  and  so 
was  listened  to,  when  a  speech  in  Greek  would 
probably  have  irritated  the  crowd. 

Then,  the  opening  words,  "  I  am  a  Jew,"  were 
well  chosen  to  conciliate  ;  as  were  the  references 
to  the  high  priest  and  the  elders,  and  the 
description  of  Ananias  as  "  a  devout  man 
according  to  the  law,  well  reported  of  by  all 
the  Jews  "  at  Damascus.  Such  language  had 
begun  to  soothe  the  excited  feeling  of  the 
crowd,  when,  the  speaker  having  occasion  to 
mention  the  Gentiles,  the  storm  broke  out 
again.  One  has  but  to  mark  the  howl  of 
rage  that  suddenly  broke  from  the  mob,  to 
appreciate  the  skill  with  which  St  Paul  chose 
his  line  of  defence,  and  picked  his  words,  to  be 
allowed  to  speak  so  long  as  he  did. 


I  go      ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM. 

Looking  at  the  speech  as  a  whole,  we  per- 
ceive it  to  be  a  personal  vindication  such  as  the 
occasion  demanded,  but  so  expressed  as  to  be 
at  the  same  time  a  courageous  testimony  to  the 
Messiahship  and  Lordship  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
whom  the  authorities  and  people  of  Jerusalem 
had  rejected  and  slain.  The  apostle  did  not 
protest  against  that  foolish  frenzy  of  the  crowd 
to  which  he  had  so  nearly  fallen  a  victim.  On 
the  contrary,  he  gave  his  audience  to  under- 
stand that  he  could  easily  account  for  their 
excitement  and  make  allowance  for  it ;  for  not 
only  was  he  himself  a  Jew,  but  at  one  time  he 
had  been  as  furious  against  Christians  as  any 
of  them  could  be.  This  the  high  priest  and  the 
elders  could  certify.  Indeed,  so  hostile  had  he 
been  to  the  followers  of  the  Nazarene,  and  so 
persuaded  that  in  persecuting  them  he  was 
loyal  to  Israel  and  zealous  for  God,  that  nothing 
short  of  a  revelation  from  heaven  could  have 
made  him  change  his  feeling  and  reverse  his 
conduct.  The  fanatical  mob  before  him  showed 
to  the  apostle  a  dreadful  picture  of  the 
cruel  rage  which  once  had  possessed  his  own 
breast  before  the  Lord  called  and  enlightened 
him  ;    and  the  sight   of   it   brought,  if  not  a 


ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM.        I9I 

tremulous  tone  to  his  voice,  a  keen  sense  of 
shame  and  pity  to  his  heart. 

He  told  them  where  he  was  born,  how  and 
where  he  was  educated,  and  with  what  con- 
scieatious  severity  he  had  once  persecuted 
Christians.  More  than  twenty  years  had  passed 
and  left  many  traces  of  toil  and  hardship  on  his 
frame.  The  crowd,  therefore,  could  not  recog- 
nise him  ;  though  the  chief  priests  and  elders,  if 
they  had  been  so  disposed,  could  have  identi- 
fied him  with  that  young  Pharisee  who,  at  and 
after  the  death  of  Stephen,  excelled  all  others 
in  his  hot  zeal  to  suppress  the  sect  of  the 
Nazarenes.  How  came  it  to  pass  that  he  was 
now  zealous  for  that  "  Way  "  which  he  was  then 
so  zealous  against  ?  Why  did  he  now  build  up 
what  he  then  sought  to  destroy  ?  The  answer 
was  that  revelations  from  heaven  which  he 
could  not  dispute  or  resist  had  shown  him  his 
error,  and  brought  him  to  the  faith  and  service 
of  the  Lord  Jesus.     He  spoke  of  two  visions — 

I.  T/ie  revelation  of  tJu  Lord  from  heaven  on 
St  Paul's  Journey  to  Damascus. — This  was  the 
turning-point  in  his  career.  No  doubt  the  story 
was  generally  known  to  Christians  at  Jerusalem, 
and  everywhere  else.     All  that  concerned  the 


192   ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM. 

signal  conversion  of  so  bitter  a  persecutor  into 
so  fervent  a  leader  of  the  Christian  host  must 
have  had  a  commanding  interest  for  their  minds, 
and  been  a  frequent  theme  of  conversation  and 
thanksgiving.  But  now  for  the  first  time  the 
people  of  Jerusalem  heard  it  from  his  own  lips. 
They  were  not  worthy  to  hear  it ;  but  it  is  a 
story  which  the  Church  will  never  cease  to  hold 
dear,  and  which  converted  Israel  will  yet  learn 
to  read  with  adoring  wonder — how  the  young 
persecutor  was  on  his  way  with  an  escort  to 
Damascus,  resolved  to  extirpate  the  Nazarene 
heresy  from  the  Jewish  settlement  in  that 
ancient  city,  and  how  there  suddenly  shone 
upon  him  a  light  from  heaven,  bright  indeed, 
for  it  exceeded  the  blaze  of  the  Syrian  noon. 
So  much  his  companions  saw,  and  they  also 
heard  a  sound.  But  Saul  only,  prostrate  on 
the  ground,  heard  the  words  that  were  spoken, 
and  which  at  once  sunk  deeply  into  his  soul — 
"  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  Me }  And 
I  answered,  Who  art  Thou,  Lord }  And  He 
said  unto  me,  I  am  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whom 
thou  persecutest." 

This  Prophet  of  Nazareth  then  really  was  the 
Messiah !     This  Jesus  against  whom  he  was  so 


ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM.       1 93 

prejudiced,  and  whose  followers  he  was  hunting 
down  as  though  they  were  unfit  to  live,  was  the 
Lord  !  Stephen  was  right,  and  had  died  for  the 
truth,  a  martyr  and  a  saint !  And  he  himself 
was  wrong,  blind,  wicked,  amidst  all  his  phari- 
saic  learning,  miserably  ignorant  of  the  Christ 
of  God ! 

Yet,  even  in  that  awful  moment  of  over- 
powering wonder  and  intense  self-reproach, 
Saul  of  Tarsus  so  far  kept  his  characteristic 
presence  of  mind  as  to  ask  the  Lord  what 
he  should  do.  Receiving  answer  that  he  should 
proceed  to  Damascus,  and  there  receive  further 
guidance,  he  went  on  with  that  decision  and 
promptitude  which  also  characterised  him,  and 
entered  the  city,  blind  indeed,  and  humbled  in 
his  own  esteem,  but  as  ready  now  to  wait  for 
Christian  guidance  as  he  had  been  a  little  before 
to  destroy  the  Christian  name. 

The  good  Ananias  came  to  him,  obedient  to 
Divine  direction,  though  feeling  somewhat  as 
a  lamb  might  do  on  entering  a  lion's  den.  But 
the  lion  was  now  a  lamb.  As  the  Christian 
visitor  hailed  him  "  brother,"  and  said  "  receive 
thy  sight,"  Saul's  eyes  opened,  and  rested  on 
the  wondering  Ananias  with  a  look  of  new  born 
N 


1 94       ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM. 

affection  and  sympathy.  Here,  indeed,  was  a 
brother  well  won. 

Then  followed  the  baptism  by  which  the  new 
convert  entered  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  ; 
and  then  the  commission  to  be  a  public  witness 
to  Jesus.  In  carrying  to  him  the  commission, 
Ananias  naturally  and  necessarily  spoke  from 
the  Jewish  point  of  view,  for  the  relation  of 
Christianity  to  the  Gentiles  was  at  that  period 
beyond  the  thoughts  even  of  the  twelve  apostles, 
much  more  beyond  the  mental  horizon  of  a 
private  Jewish  Christian  living  at  Damascus. 
So  Ananias  gave  the  commission  as  from  the 
God  of  the  Hebrew  fathers,  and  indicated  the 
Lord  Jesus  by  the  title  "the  Just  One,"  just  as 
Stephen  had  done  before  the  Council  at  Jeru- 
salem. This  last  coincidence  must  have  greatly 
struck  the  mind  of  Saul,  on  whom  Stephen's 
address  had  already  made  a  deep  impression. 

The  Jewish  cast  of  the  whole  story  was  skil- 
fully reproduced  by  St  Paul  when  he  told  it  to 
the  Jewish  crowd.  Why  were  they  so  frantic 
against  him  for  bearing  witness  to  that  Just 
One  as  the  Christ  ?  What  other  course  could 
he  have  taken  after  such  a  vision  and  revelation 
as  he  now  described  ?     And  why  should  he  be 


ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM.       1 95 

deemed  an  enemy  to  God  or  to  his  nation  for 
pursuing  a  career  which,  as  he  firmly  believed, 
had  been  assigned  to  him  by  the  God  of  his 
fathers  ? 

So  far  the  audience  kept  silence.  These  were 
wonderful  facts,  if  true,  which  this  bold  speaker 
declared  :  no  Jew  would  venture  to  say  that 
visions  and  revelations  from  heaven  were  in- 
credible ;  and  thus  far  nothing  had  been  uttered 
which  even  malice  could  construe  into  an  attack 
on  the  law  or  on  the  customs  of  the  nation. 

But  the  apostle  had  to  tell  them  of  another 
vision,  in  order  to  account  for  the  wide  sweep 
which  his  testimony  to  the  Just  One  had  taken, 
and  which  had  made  him  so  obnoxious  to  those 
Jews  from  the  province  of  Asia,  who  had  raised 
the  tumult  against  him.* 

II.  The  revelation  of  the  Lord  to  St  Paid  in 
the  Ternple. — In  some  respects  this  second  story 
must  have  been  more  startling  to  the  audience 
than  the  first.  At  that  very  temple,  within 
those  holy  courts,  Jesus,  years  after  His  cruci- 
fixion, had  appeared  and  spoken  to  Paul ! 

It  was  at  the  time  when  he  first  preached  in 
Jerusalem  as   a  Christian,  having  been   intro- 

*  Acts  xxi.  27,  28. 


196       ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM. 

duced  to  the  Church  by  Barnabas.  The  Hel- 
lenist Jews  even  then  plotted  to  kill  him,  and 
he  was  persuaded  by  his  brethren  in  the  faith 
to  leave  the  city.*  There  was,  however,  another 
reason  for  his  departure,  not  mentioned  at  that 
time  by  the  historian,  but  divulged  in  this 
speech  by  St  Paul  himself.  While  praying 
in  the  Temple  he  had  fallen  into  a  trance, 
just  as  St  Peter  had  done  at  Joppa,  while 
praying  on  the  house  top.  In  the  trance,  St 
Paul  then  saw  the  Lord,  who  enjoined  him 
to  make  haste  and  get  quickly  out  of  Jeru- 
salem. 

It  is  evident  that  the  apostle  had  been  resist- 
ing the  entreaty  of  the  brethren  that  he  should 
save  his  life  by  flight.  He  even  urged  it  on 
the  Lord,  that  he  might  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  that  long- sacred  city.  He  loved  his  own 
people,  Israel,  so  intensely,  and  was  so  reluc- 
tant to  believe  that  they  would  reject  his 
fervent  testimony  to  Christ !  Then  he  was, 
like  his  Master,  so  desirous,  if  it  were  possible, 
to  save  Jerusalem ;  and  he  pleaded  that  the 
knowledge  which  the  citizens  had  of  his  recent 
hostility  to  the  Christians  would  tend  to  con- 
*  Acts  ix.  28-30. 


ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM.       1 97 

vince  them  that  he  must  have  had  very  strong 
grounds  for  now  taking  up  so  different  a  posi- 
tion, and  bearing,  at  every  risk,  a  Christian 
testimony.  St  Paul  perceived  and  felt,  what  in 
later  times  some  of  our  English  defenders  of 
the  faith  have  urged  with  great  force,  that 
his  own  conversion  supplied  one  of  the  most 
powerful  arguments  for  Christianity.  But  the 
Lord  had  given  him  in  reply  a  distinct  com- 
mand— "  Go !  for  I  will  send  thee  forth  from 
hence  to  the  Gentiles."  And  it  was  in  obedi- 
ence to  his  heavenly  Master,  not  from  any 
disloyalty  to  his  own  nation,  or  preference  for 
other  countries  or  races,  that,  during  the  twenty 
years  which  had  elapsed  between  that  vision 
and  this  riot  in  the  Temple,  the  apostle  had 
given  his  laborious  days  and  nights  to  the 
service  of  Christ  in  foreign  parts,  not  only 
to  the  Jews  and  proselytes  in  Gentile  cities, 
but  to  the  Gentiles  themselves,  thousands  of 
whom  had  "turned  from  idols  to  serve  the 
living  God,  and  to  wait  for  His  Son  from 
heaven." 

But  the  speaker  had  dropped  the  word  "  Gen- 
tiles," and  in  a  tone  not  of  hatred,  but  of  good- 
will.    It  was  intolerable  to  those  fanatical  Jews, 


198       ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM. 

who  regarded  all  nations  but  their  own  as  un- 
worthy to  bear  the  name  of  God  or  of  His 
Christ.  In  a  moment  all  the  conciliatory  tenor 
of  this  speech  was  disregarded,  and  passionate 
cries  again  rose  from  the  furious  crowd,  "Away 
with  such  a  fellow  from  the  earth  !  "  In  an  ex- 
citement which  only  an  Oriental  mob  can  reach, 
they  threw  off  their  garments,  and  cast  dust  into 
the  air.  Happily  the  apostle  was  out  of  their 
reach  ;  but  "  the  chief  captain,"  being  ignorant 
of  the  language  in  which  the  speech  had  been 
delivered,  appears  to  have  inferred  from  this  new 
outbreak  of  popular  rage,  that  St  Paul  must  have 
said  something  quite  atrocious.  Accordingly  he 
proposed  to  "  examine  him  by  scourging,  that 
he  might  know  for  what  cause  they  so  shouted 
against  him." 

This  outrage  was  prevented  by  St  Paul's 
affirmation  pf  his  Roman  citizenship  ;  and  so  he 
rested  safely  in  the  castle  till  the  following  day, 
when  he  spoke  again  in  his  own  defence  before 
the  chief  priests  and  the  Sanhedrim. 

One  or  two  reflections  suggest  themselves — 
(i)  How  cruel  is  race-hatred,  especially  when 
intensified  by  religious  prejudice.     The  tribes  of 


ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM.       1 99 

Israel  were  separated  by  the  will  of  God  from 
other  tribes  and  nations,  in  order  that  they 
might  preserve  a  heritage  of  truth  for  the 
benefit  of  the  whole  world,  and  that  in  Abra- 
ham's posterity  all  families  of  the  earth  might 
be  blessed.  But  they  gloried  in  their  separa- 
tion, as  if  it  were  appointed  for  their  sakes,  and 
marked  their  superiority  to  all  mankind.  They 
regarded  themselves  as  favourites  of  heaven, 
conceived  a  scorn  for  other  nations,  and  as- 
sumed that  God  was  as  narrow-minded  as 
themselves.  The  Gentiles,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  reciprocated  the  scorn,  and  regarded  the 
Jews  not  as  a  holy  nation,  but  as  an  unsocial 
and  obstinate  race. 

Through  all  the  Christian  centuries  this 
miserable  enmity  has  continued,  and  it  shows 
itself  in  unabated  strength  in  some  countries  of 
Europe  at  the  present  day.  The  Jews  in  their 
hearts  despise  the  people  among  whom  they 
live,  outwit  and  fleece  them  without  the 
slightest  compunction,  all  the  time  assuming 
that  the  God  of  their  fathers  is  with  them,  not 
only  guardian  of  their  national  existence,  but 
patron  of  their  most  bitter  prejudices.  On  the 
other  hand.   Gentiles  dislike   and   distrust  the 


200      ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM. 

Jews,  and  sometimes  assail  them  with  hard 
words,  and  harder  deeds.  It  is  all  wrong  and 
displeasing  to  God.  It  is  bad  humanity  and 
bad  divinity.  It  is  an  Eastern  race  feud,  in- 
creased and  inflamed  by  false  and  narrow  con- 
ceptions of  the  character  and  will  of  God.  It 
might  and  would  have  been  corrected  eighteen 
centuries  ago,  if  the  Jews  had  not  rejected  the 
Gospel  which  was  sent  to  them  first  and  then  to 
all  the  nations,  and  if  they  had  not  refused  the 
teaching  of  one  to  whom  the  Gentiles  listened — 
a  man  who  has  cast  more  honour  on  the  Jewish 
name  than  all  the  Rabbis  of  whom  the  syna- 
gogues can  boast — Paul,  the  Jew,  of  Tarsus. 

(2.)  How  great  the  change  which  the  grace  of 
Christ  can  effect  in  man !  That  fierce  and 
angry  mob,  shouting  for  the  blood  of  this  man 
of  God,  was  in  his  view  a  hideous  illustration  of 
what  he  himself  had  been  in  the  days  when 
he  "  breathed  out  threatening  and  slaughter " 
against  the  followers  of  Jesus.  But  now  what 
they  hated,  and  he  had  hated,  he  loved  with  all 
his  heart  and  soul.  Old  things  had  passed 
away  ;  all  things  were  made  new. 

Let  it  not  be  said  of  any  man  that  he  is  too 
far  from   Christ,   or  too  much  opposed  to  the 


ST  PAUL  TO  A  MOB  AT  JERUSALEM.       20I 

Gospel,  ever  to  be  converted.  Least  of  all,  let 
this  be  said  of  one  who  acts  from  views  of  duty 
however  mistaken,  and  obeys  a  conscience  how- 
ever misinformed  and  prejudiced.  It  is  well 
that  there  is  a  moral  nature  to  be  wrought 
upon;  well  that  there  is  a  conscience  which 
may  be  enlightened.  Prayer  should  be  made 
for  men  of  earnest  purpose  who  are  against  the 
Gospel,  whether  they  are  influenced  by  supersti- 
tion or  by  infidelity.  Their  case  is  not  hope- 
less, for  He  who  made  of  the  persecutor,  Saul, 
not  only  a  believer,  but  a  persuasive  and  power- 
ful witness  to  the  truth,  and  a  chosen  vessel  to 
bear  the  name  of  Jesus,  knows  how  to  reveal 
Himself  to  men  whom  ordinary  methods  do  not 
reach,  and  to  turn  vehement  assailants  into  de- 
vout and  courageous  champions  of  the  faith. 


XII. 

ST   PAUL  AT   C^SAREA  TO   FELIX. 

"And  when  the  governor  had  beckoned  unto  him  to  speak, 
Paul  answered,  Forasmuch  as  I  know  that  thou  hast  been  of 
many  years  a  judge  unto  this  nation,  I  do  cheerfully  make  my 
defence  :  seeing  that  thou  canst  take  knowledge,  that  it  is  not 
more  than  twelve  days  since  I  went  up  to  worship  at  Jerusalem: 
and  neither  in  the  temple  did  they  find  me  disputing  with  any 
man  or  stirring  up  a  crowd,  nor  in  the  synagogues,  nor  in  the 
city.  Neither  can  they  prove  to  thee  the  things  whereof  they 
now  accuse  me.  But  this  I  confess  unto  thee,  that  after  the  Way 
which  they  call  a  sect,  so  sei-ve  I  the  God  of  our  fathers,  believing 
all  things  which  are  according  to  the  law,  and  which  are  written 
in  the  prophets  :  having  hope  toward  God,  which  these  also 
themselves  look  for,  that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection  both  of 
the  just  and  unjust.  Herein  do  I  also  exercise  myself  to  have 
a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God  and  men  alway.  Now 
after  many  years  I  came  to  bring  alms  to  my  nation,  and  offer- 
ings :  amidst  which  they  found  me  purified  in  the  temple,  with 
no  crowd,  nor  yet  with  tumult :  but  there  were  certain  Jews  from 
Asia — who  ought  to  have  been  here  before  thee,  and  to  make 
accusation,  if  they  had  aught  against  me.  Or  else  let  these  men 
themselves  say  what  wrong-doing  they  found,  when  I  stood 
before  the  council,  except  it  be  for  this  one  voice,  that  I  cried 
standing  among  them.  Touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  I 
am  called  in  question  before  you  this  day." — Acts  xxiv.  10-21. 

WE  have  to  do  no  longer  with  the  procla- 
mation of  the  Gospel  by  a  missionary 
in  the  synagogue  or  in  the  open  air,  but  with 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  FELIX.        203 

the  defence  made  by  an  accused  prisoner  before 
a  Roman  governor  in  his  hall  or  court  of  justice. 
Felix,  who  was  ruler,  or  as  the  title  ran.  Pro- 
curator of  Palestine,  sat  on  the  judgment-seat. 
Before  him  appeared  the  High  Priest  from 
Jerusalem,  attended  by  certain  of  the  elders, 
to  arraign  Paul  of  Tarsus.  The  fact  that  such 
dignitaries  of  the  Jewish  nation  had  come  so 
far  in  person  to  lay  this  accusation,  showed 
what  importance  they  attached  to  their  plea. 
But  they  mistrusted  their  own  competency  to 
conduct  a  cause  in  this  Gentile  court,  and  there- 
fore were  represented  by  counsel.  Tertullus,  a 
Latin  rhetorician  or  advocate,  was  engaged  to 
speak  in  their  behalf  Then  St  Paul  was 
brought  from  the  guard-room  of  the  palace, 
and  stood  face  to  face  with  his  accusers.  It 
was  a  new  place  of  witness  for  the  much  tried 
man.  We  may  be  sure  that  he  had  prayed  for 
grace  sufficient,  and  it  was  given  to  him  in  that 
hour  what  he  should  speak. 

The  counsel  for  the  prosecution  opened  in  a 
speech,  of  which,  St  Luke  has  given  us  a  con- 
densed report.  He  began  with  most  obsequious 
flattery  of  the  Procurator,  affecting,  in  name  of 
the  Jews,  to  place  in  him  unbounded  confidence, 


204       ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  FELIX. 

whereas  It  is  certain  from  historians  of  the  period, 
that  Felix  was  an  unjust  and  cruel,  and  there- 
fore an  extremely  unpopular  governor. 

The  cringing  tones  in  which  Tertullus  ad- 
dressed the  judge  gave  place  to  unsparing 
severity  of  language  when  he  accused  the 
prisoner.  The  charges  which  he  laid  against 
St  Paul  were  three — (i)  That  he  was  a  public 
pest,  everywhere  promoting  disturbance  and 
exciting   a   factious   temper   among  the  Jews ; 

(2)  That  he  was  a  ringleader  of  a  new  and 
troublesome  sect,  known  as  "the  Nazarenes;" 

(3)  That,  out  of  sheer  wickedness,  he  had  at- 
tempted to  profane  the  Temple.  These  were 
not  offences  of  which  the  Roman  law  took 
cognisance;  therefore  it  was  urged  that  this 
man  should  be  handed  over  for  trial  to  the 
Jewish  tribunal,  the  Sanhedrim.  It  was  inti- 
mated to  the  Procurator  that  Paul  would  have 
been  dealt  with  already  by  that  council,  had 
not  the  Roman  commandant  at  Jerusalem 
snatched  him  out  of  their  hands.  Of  the 
murderous  tumult  from  which  Paul  had  been 
rescued,  and  of  the  foul  conspiracy  to  assassi- 
nate him  from  which  he  had  escaped  to  Caesarea, 
Tertullus  conveniently  said  nothing. 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  FELIX.       205 

No   witnesses   were   called,   apart   from    the 
company   of  accusers.      Their   object,  indeed, 
was   not   to   have   a   sentence   pronounced  by 
Felix,  but  to  induce  him  to  remit  the  prisoner 
to  the  Jewish  council,  with  permission  to  the 
council  to  pass  what  sentence  and  inflict  what 
penalty  they  pleased.     Therefore  the  Jews  fol- 
lowed up  the  speech  of  their  counsel  by  strong 
assertions  corroborative  of  the  charges  which 
he  had  made.     In   this,  however,  they  rather 
outwitted   themselves ;    for   every   one   in    the 
court,  the  Procurator  not  excepted,  must  have 
seen  what   a   mockery  of  justice   it  would  be 
to  hand  over   an   accused   man  to  a  tribunal 
in   which    those   angry   fanatics   would   sit   as 
judges. 

Felix  said  nothing,  but  beckoned  to  the 
accused  that  he  might  proceed  with  his  defence. 
"  Then  Paul  answered  for  himself"  He  was 
calm,  lucid,  fearless,  and  full  of  a  self-respecting 
and  truth-respecting  dignity. 

The  contrast  between  his  preamble  and  that 
of  Tertullus  strikes  every  reader.  The  hired 
orator,  being  insincere,  overacted  his  part,  and 
paid  compliments  to  Felix  which  every  one  in 
the    judgment-hall    knew  to    be    false.      The 


206        ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  FELIX. 

apostle  began  with  all  due  deference  and 
courtesy,  but,  in  regard  to  the  judge,  con- 
tented himself  with  saying  what  was  strictly 
true,  viz.,  that  Felix  having  been  Procurator 
in  Judea  for  an  unusually  long  term  of  years, 
and  therefore  familiar  with  the  Jewish  calendar 
and  customs,  was  all  the  better  able  to  under- 
stand the  hollowness  of  the  charges  which  Ter- 
tullus  had  uttered.  The  governor  knew  when 
the  Feast  of  Pentecost  took  place,  how  short 
the  time  since  Paul  had  arrived  at  Jerusalem  to 
worship  at  that  feast,  and  how  absurd  it  was  to 
denounce  him  as  a  hardened  mischief  maker  in 
the  Holy  City. 

To  the  first  and  third  allegations  laid  against 
him,  St  Paul  gave  a  flat  contradiction,  and 
challenged  his  accusers  to  prove  them.  He 
had  not  stirred  confusion  and  uproar,  either  in 
Jewish  synagogues  elsewhere,  or  in  the  streets 
of  Jerusalem.  He  had  not  desecrated  the 
Temple,  but  was  there  by  right  as  a  devout 
Israelite.  It  was  not  those  elders  of  Jerusalem 
who  had  found  him  in  the  Temple,  but  certain 
foreign  Jews  from  the  province  of  Asia,  who 
were  not  present  to  give  their  testimony,  as 
they  might  have  been,  and  ought  to  have  been. 


ST  PAUL  AT  C/ESAREA  TO  FELIX.        207 

if  they  had  any  serious  charge  against  him. 
This  last  point,  even  had  there  been  no  other 
in  the  defence,  was  sufficient  to  prevent  a 
sentence  of  condemnation  ;  and  when  Tertullus 
heard  it,  he  must  have  admired  the  unpro- 
fessional skill  of  the  prisoner,  and  must  have 
known  that  the  case  for  the  prosecution  was 
lost.  A  Roman  citizen  could  not  be  found 
guilty  in  a  Roman  court  on  the  accusation  of 
parties  who  had  not  been  present  when  the 
alleged  offence  was  said  to  have  been  com- 
mitted, while  the  persons  who  were  present 
and  could  have  given  testimony  at  first  hand, 
were  absent  from  the  court,  and  were  not  even 
mentioned  by  the  prosecutor. 

It  was  not  for  the  apostle  to  prove  his  own 
innocence.  Enough  for  him  to  show  the  inher- 
ent improbability  of  the  only  precise  charge 
brought  against  him — that  of  stirring  up  tumults 
at  Jerusalem  and  desecrating  the  Temple,  and 
to  point  to  the  significant  circumstance  that  the 
witnesses  who  could  have  proved  the  offence  if 
it  had  been  committed,  were  absent  to  a  man. 
Then  we  can  well  imagine  him  look  firmly  in 
the  face  that  wretched  Sadducean  High  Priest 
with  whom   he   had    already  had  a  sharp  en- 


208       ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  FELIX. 

counter  of  words  in  the  council  chamber,  and 
those  hard-hearted  elders  who,  with  the  High 
Priest,  sought  the  suppression  of  his  testimony 
by  the  taking  of  his  life  ;  and  we  can  hear  him 
defy  the  whole  vindictive  company  to  prove 
these  charges.  "  Neither  can  they  prove  to 
thee  the  things  whereof  they  now  accuse  me." 

So  much  for  the  first  and  third  charges  ;  but 
the  second  count  of  indictment  was  thought  by 
St  Paul  to  need  a  more  affirmative  answer. 
Tertullus,  acting  under  instructions,  had  stig- 
matised him  as  ''  a  ringleader  of  the  sect  of  the 
Nazarenes."  In  reply,  the  apostle  spoke  frankly 
of  "  the  Way  "  which  he  had  followed,  and  the 
convictions  he  had  formed.  He  saw  in  this  an 
opening  for  some  useful  testimony.  '*  But  this 
I  confess  unto  thee,  that  after  the  Way  which 
they  call  a  sect,  so  serve  I  the  God  of  our 
fathers." 

"  Heresy  "  is  the  word  used  both  by  Tertullus 
and  by  Paul.  That  Greek  term  was  used  to 
denote  a  separating  party  or  sect.  We  read  of 
"the  heresy  (sect)  of  the  Sadducees,"*  and  of 
"  the  heresy  (sect)  of  the  Pharisees." f  But  as 
the  word  in  its  English  form  is  taken  to  mean 
*  Acts  V.  1 7.  t  Acts  XV.  5. 


ST  PAUL  AT  C/ESAREA  TO  FELIX.        2O9 

an  unorthodox  or  heterodox  opinion,  we  are 
obliged,  in  order  to  express  the  thought  of  St 
Paul,  to  change  his  term,  and  say  "  sect  of  the 
Nazarenes."  Such  was  the  light  in  which  the 
first  Christians  were  commonly  regarded.  They 
were  a  sect  or  party  like  the  Herodians  or 
Essenes.  When  the  Jews  at  Rome  sought 
information  from  St  Paul  on  his  arrival  in 
that  city,  they  said  —  ''As  concerning  this 
heresy  (sect)  we  know  that  it  is  everywhere 
spoken  against.''* 

The  imputation  on  Christianity  that  it  was  no 
better  than  a  crotchet  of  some  Jewish  separatists 
who  broke  away  from  the  main  current  of  the 
national  religious  thought  and  life  was  not  only 
inaccurate,  but  extremely  offensive  to  one  who 
saw  so  clearly  and  comprehensively  as  St  Paul 
did  the  relation  of  Christianity  to  Judaism  as 
its  efflorescence  and  its  glory.  But  he  contented 
himself  with  the  disclaimer  implied  in  the  ex- 
pression— "  which  they  call  a  sect ;  "  and  pro- 
ceeded to  maintain,  as  he  had  taught  every- 
where, that  the  Christian  faith  was  no  departure 
from  the  ancestral  religion  of  Israel,  but  was  its 
issue  and  perfection. 

*  Acts  xxviii.  22. 
O 


2IO       ST  PAUL  AT  C/ESAREA  TO  FELIX. 

He  did  not  on  this  occasion  introduce  the 
name  of  the  Nazarene.  Nothing  had  been 
adduced  against  the  Saviour's  cause  further 
than  this  foolish  allegation  that  the  Nazarenes 
were  a  sect  of  unruly  separatists,  and  that  Paul 
as  a  leader  of  them  stirred  up  animosity  and 
uproar  wherever  he  went.  So  the  apostle,  being 
on  his  defence  in  a  court  of  justice,  spoke  to  this 
point,  and  showed  that  he  and  his  brethren  were 
not  sectaries,  but  faithful  Israelites.  They  served 
no  new  or  strange  god,  but  only  the  God  of 
their  fathers.  And  they  rejected  no  part  of  the 
Old  Testament  canon  of  Scripture,  but  held  to 
the  law  and  the  prophets. 

The  High  Priest  and  the  Sanhedrim  re- 
garded the  Nazarenes  as  heretics  or  sectaries 
because  they  presumed  to  differ  from  the 
authorities  in  regard  to  Jesus,  whom  the 
council  had  condemned,  just  as  the  Pope  and 
all  the  leaders  of  the  Latin  Church  denounced 
the  Reformers  of  the  i6th  century  as  heretics  or 
sectaries  because  they  presumed  to  differ  from 
them  regarding  the  grace  of  Christ  and  the  free- 
ness  of  the  gospel.  St  Paul  opened  a  deeper 
question.  Were  they  or  were  they  not  true  to 
Holy  Scripture  ?     Were  they  not  faithful  to  the 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  FELIX.        2  I  I 

hope  which  Scripture  warranted  ?  This  question 
he  was  always  ready,  nay  eager,  to  discuss.  But 
the  rulers  of  the  Jews,  unable  to  meet  him  in 
argument,  tried  to  crush  him  by  the  violence  of 
mobs,  and  arraigned  him  before  Gentile  gover- 
nors both  in  Europe  and  in  Asia,  that  without 
law  or  under  forms  of  law  the  heretic  might  die. 
In  like  manner  the  Reformers  were  always 
eager  to  show  that  they  fairly  interpreted  and 
conscientiously  followed  Holy  Scripture ;  but 
the  chief  priests  and  ecclesiastical  magnates  of 
the  traditional  church,  unable  to  refute  them 
on  such  ground,  denounced  them  as  pestilent 
heretics,  and  tried  to  crush  them  by  the  strong 
secular  arm  of  the  Emperor  and  the  Princes  of 
Europe. 

We  have  said  that  St  Paul  in  his  defence 
said  nothing  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  the  sacred 
name  was  not  mentioned  in  the  speech  of  ac- 
cusation. Neither  did  he  touch  the  question  of 
the  Messiahship  of  Jesus,  because  it  had  not 
been  mooted  by  Tertullus ;  and  it  was  not  a 
topic  which  Felix,  as  a  heathen,  could  very 
well  understand  or  judge.  But  there  were  two 
points  which  had  excited  great  discussion  when 
the  apostle  stood  before  the  council  at  Jeru- 


212       ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  FELIX. 

salem ;  and  these  he  brought  up  again  as  the 
real  matters  in  dispute  between  him  and  the 
High  Priest.  It  must  have  been  as  gall  and 
wormwood  to  the  vain  Pontiff,  Ananias,  to  hear 
the  very  statements  which  he  had  hotly  re- 
sented in  the  Sanhedrim  a  few  days  before  now 
calmly  reproduced  while  he  was  there,  not 
seated  as  a  presiding  judge,  but  standing  as  a 
baffled  accuser,  and  compelled  to  listen  to  this 
bold  defence. 

I.  The  claim  to  a  good  conscience. — Before  the 
council  St  Paul  had  said — "  I  have  lived  before 
God  in  all  good  conscience  until  this  day."  At 
the  word  the  High  Priest,  with  monstrous  un- 
fairness, had  bidden  the  officers  of  the  court 
smite  the  apostle  on  the  mouth,  and  the  out- 
rage drew  from  Paul  a  stinging  retort.  But 
now  Ananias  had  to  stand  silent  while  Paul 
said,  "  Herein  do  I  exercise  myself  to  have  a 
conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God  and  man 
alway."  This  did  not  prove  that  he  was  right 
either  in  theory  or  in  practice,  for  conscience 
may  be  misinformed  and  misguided ;  but  it 
went  to  show  that  Paul  was  no  unruly  person 
or  reckless  plotter  of  sedition.  Also  it  helped 
him  to  stand  unabashed  before  the  Procurator, 


ST  PAUL  AT  C.ESAREA  TO  FELIX.        2  I  3 

and  before  his  own  accusing  countrymen.  He 
had  done  them  no  wrong.  He  had  not  marred 
the  service  of  God  ;  he  had  not  disturbed  the 
peace  of  society  among  either  Jews  or  Gentiles, 
though  evil  men  had  risen  up  against  him.  He 
had  been  careful  to  avoid  offence,  and  to  walk 
in  his  duty  towards  God  and  man. 

2.  The  hope  of  the  resiirrectio7t  of  the  dead. — 
This  had  been  avowed  by  St  Paul  before  the 
council  at  Jerusalem,  and  thereupon  a  keen  dis- 
pute had  sprung  up  between  the  Pharisees  who 
acknowledged  and  the  Sadducees  who  disowned 
a  future  resurrection.  Ananias,  the  High  Priest, 
was  a  Sadducee,  and  sorely  vexed  he  must  have 
been  to  be  compelled  to  listen  to  the  prisoner 
not  only  expressing  his  own  hope  of  the  resurrec- 
tion, but  also  assuring  the  Procurator  that  this 
was  the  belief  of  orthodox  Israelites — "  Which 
these  also  themselves  look  for,  that  there  shall 
be  a  resurrection  both  of  the  just  and  of  the  un- 
just." 

St  Paul  could  have  said  much  more  of  his 
Christian  faith  and  hope  ;  could  have  preached, 
as  at  other  times,  repentance  and  forgiveness  of 
sins  in  the  name  of  Lord  Jesus.  But  "to  every- 
thing there  is  a  season,"     The  apostle  was  not 


214       ST  PAUL  AT  C/ESAREA  TO  FELIX. 

there  to  preach  salvation  to  sinners,  but  was 
defending  his  life  and  liberty  before  a  tribunal ; 
and  he  did  wisely  to  confine  his  speech  to  the 
charges  which  had  been  alleged  against  him. 
He  concluded  by  telling  to  the  Procurator  the 
ground  which  he  had  taken  up  before  that 
council,  the  representatives  of  which  had  come 
all  the  way  to  Caesarea  to  prosecute  him.  Why 
should  he  not  be  at  liberty  to  cherish  a  hope 
regarding  the  dead  which  was  held  by  a  large 
portion  of  the  council  .'*  And  why  should  he  be 
surrendered  to  the  malice  of  those,  his  accusers, 
who  could  not  in  the  Roman  court  prove  any 
"  wrong-doing  "  against  him  .-* 

The  defence  was  conclusive.  Obviously  the 
case  broke  down.  Felix  knew  more  about  the 
Way,  i.e.,  the  Nazarene  or  Christian  movement, 
than  the  accusing  party  from  Jerusalem  had 
supposed  ;  and  he  saw  clearly  that  his  prisoner 
must  not  be  surrendered  to  the  Jewish  council. 
If  he  had  stirred  sedition,  of  which  there  was  no 
proof,  the  Roman  authority,  which  was  respon- 
sible for  the  public  peace  in  all  provinces  of  the 
Empire,  should  judge  and  sentence  him.  If  he 
held  an  opinion  or  hope  about  the  resurrection 


ST  PAUL  AT  C/ESAREA  TO  FELIX.        2  15 

of  the  dead,  as  he  had  admitted,  Jewish  authori- 
ties held  the  same  opinion,  and  Roman  law  took 
no  notice  of  such  matters.     A  Roman  citizen  of 
Jewish  extraction  had  a  right  to  believe  on  a 
point  of  that  nature  as  he  pleased.     So  St  Paul 
ought  to  have  been  released.       But    now  the 
character  of  Felix  began  to  show  its  bad  side. 
He  cared  more  for  his  own  comfort  than  for 
justice.     It  might  cost  him  trouble  afterwards  if 
he  should  give  open  offence  to  the  High  Priest 
and  the  important  deputation  that  accompanied 
him,  and  send  them  back  to  Jerusalem  ignomi- 
niously   defeated.       So    selfish    prudence,    not 
righteousness,  spoke  from  the  judgment  seat. 
The  case  was  adjourned.     Paul  was  remanded, 
but  not  to  close  confinement.     His  friends  were 
allowed  to  visit  him  ;  and  as  there  were  a  good 
many  Christians    at    Caesarea,  no  doubt  they 
sought  the  society  of  the  apostle,  and  lightened 
the  hours  of  his  confinement  by  their  converse 
and  sympathy.      More  than  two  years  passed 
before  Paul  was  permitted  to  leave  that  prison 
in  the  Herodian  Palace,  which  was  used  as  the 
Government  House  of  the  Roman  Procurator ; 
and,  when  he  left  it,  he  was  a  prisoner  still. 
During  those  years  the  apostle  was  well  pro- 


2l6       ST  PAUL  AT  C.ESAREA  TO  FELIX. 

tected.  Whatever  the  malice  of  the  Jews,  they 
could  not  molest  him  within  a  Roman  strong- 
hold. No  doubt  he  deeply  felt  the  loss  of  time 
for  active  ministry.  What  regions  might  he  not 
have  visited,  in  how  many  places  might  he  not 
have  planted  the  gospel,  if  it  had  not  been 
for  this  vexatious  detention !  And  then  the 
Churches  which  he  had  founded,  and  those 
founded  by  others,  which  he  had  visited  and 
helped,  how  did  it  fare  with  them  }  Were  false 
teachers  perplexing  and  scattering  them,  or 
were  they  standing  true  to  their  first  faith  in 
Christ  Jesus  ?  What  a  trial  to  St  Paul  that  he 
could  hear  so  little  of  them,  and  could  not  go 
to  them  during  those  critical  years  of  their 
infancy  !  But  the  Lord  had  a  wise  and  loving 
purpose  in  arranging  for  His  servant  this 
enforced  pause  in  the  midst  of  a  laborious 
career.  There  can  be  little  doubt  that  for 
many  months  before,  Paul  had  been  overtax- 
ing his  strength.  His  nervous  temperament 
must  have  been  strained  and  exhausted  by 
the  impassioned  scenes  through  which  he  had 
passed,  the  clinging  affection  of  his  friends 
and  the  inveterate  fury  of  his  enemies.  This 
mild  imprisonment  at  Caesarea  gave  him  time 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  FELIX.        2  1  7 

to  recruit.  Nor  need  we  suppose  that  time 
hung  heavy  on  his  hands.  Whether  or  not  St 
Paul  wrote  any  of  his  great  epistles  during  this 
interval  of  forced  retirement  from  the  public 
eye,  he  had  precious  leisure  for  study  and 
prayer,  and  must  have  prepared  himself  for 
subsequent  efforts  of  writing  and  preaching, 
which  told  powerfully  in  his  later  ministry. 

Nor  was  he  quite  without  opportunity  of 
exercising  ministry,  or  bearing  testimony  to  the 
truth,  even  during  these  two  years  at  Caesarea. 
FeHx  had  enticed  Drusilla  from  her  husband, 
the  Prince  of  Emesa,  and  married  her.  As  she 
was  a  Jewess,  he  thought  to  gratify  her  by 
letting  her  see  and  hear  his  Jewish  prisoner 
who  could  speak  so  well.  When  Paul  was 
called  before  them,  he  did  speak,  but  in  a 
way  that  made  the  procurator  tremble.  He 
"  reasoned  of  righteousness,  temperance,  and 
judgment  to  come."  Now  Felix,  as  a  ruler, 
had  violated  righteousness  ;  as  a  man,  had  cast 
off  temperance ;  and,  both  as  a  ruler  and  as  a 
man,  had  cause  to  fear  the  judgment  to  come. 
Drusilla,  more  gentle  in  appearance,  seems  to 
have  had  the  stouter  heart,  or  she  knew  how 
to  hide  agitation  under  a  calm  exterior.  Felix 
visibly  quivered  under  the  apostle's  word. 


2l8       ST  PAUL  AT  C/ESAREA  TO  FELIX. 

Again,  he  got  rid  of  the  prisoner  by  the  weak 
device  of  an  adjournment.     He  felt  the  holy- 
force  of  the  preaching,  and  yet  he  would  not  do 
justice  to  the  preacher.     He  would  hear  him 
again  at  a  convenient  time.      It  is  sometimes 
said,  but  quite  erroneously,  that  Felix   never 
found  that  convenient  season.     Quite  the  con- 
trary.    He  often  sent  for  St  Paul, — never  again, 
so  far  as  we  know,  in  Drusilla's  presence,  "  and 
communed  with  him."     But  he  seems  never  to 
have  trembled  again.     The  instructive  fact  is 
that,  so  far  as  Felix  was  concerned,  a  covetous 
motive  vitiated  all  those  interviews.    He  sought 
a  bribe  for  doing  what  it  was  his  duty  to  do. 
He  felt  sure  that  a  man  of  such   ability  and 
such  importance  to  the  Christian  cause,  could 
command   a    very   considerable    ransom.      So 
'*he  hoped   that  Paul  would  have   given  him 
money." 

Thus  unhappy  {infelix)  Felix  lost  the  con- 
viction of  conscience  which  once  visited  him, 
and  might  have  proved  the  beginning  of  repent- 
ance. He  lost  this ;  and  he  gained  nothing. 
He  detained  St  Paul  two  whole  years  in  ex- 
pectation of  a  bribe,  and  bribe  he  got  none. 
When  himself  recalled  to  Rome,  he   left   the 


ST  PAUL  AT  C/ESAREA  TO  FELIX.        2  I  9 

apostle  in  prison  at  Csesarea,  in  order  to  please 
the  Jews ;  and  the  Jews,  refusing  to  be  pro- 
pitiated, followed  him  to  Rome  with  bitter 
accusations  of  his  misconduct  and  misgovern- 
ment  He  narrowly  escaped  capital  punish- 
ment. He  was  obliged  to  disgorge  the  greater 
portion  of  his  ill-gotten  wealth,  and  died  in 
obscurity  and  disgrace. 

Many  think  they  may  do  as  they  please  with 
the  preacher  of  the  Gospel.  They  listen,  or 
refuse  to  listen,  as  the  mood  seizes  them.  They 
open  the  ear  to  him  when  it  is  convenient,  and 
then,  if  he  presses  them  hard,  put  the  matter 
off  till  some  other  convenient  season.  But  it 
is  an  unseemly  thing  thus  to  play  with  the 
Gospel ;  and  it  is  an  extremely  perilous  thing 
to  trifle  with  conviction  or  compunction  of  con- 
science, which  men  may  indeed  contrive  to 
dismiss,  but  cannot,  at  their  own  pleasure, 
recall. 


XIII. 

ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

"And  Agrippa  said  unto  Paul,  Thou  art  permitted  to  spea 
for  thyself.  Then  Paul  stretched  forth  his  hand,  and  made  his 
defence:  I  think  myself  happy,  king  Agrippa,  that  I  am  to 
make  my  defence  before  thee  this  day  touching  all  the  things 
whereof  I  am  accused  by  the  Jews  :  especially  because  thou  art 
expert  in  all  customs  and  questions  which  are  among  the  Jews : 
wherefore  I  beseech  thee  to  hear  me  patiently.  My  manner  of 
life  then  from  my  youth  up,  which  was  from  the  beginning 
among  mine  own  nation,  and  at  Jerusalem,  know  all  the  Jews ; 
having  knowledge  of  me  from  the  first,  if  they  be  willing  to 
testify,  how  that  after  the  straitest  sect  of  our  religion  I  lived  a 
Pharisee.  And  now  I  stand  here  to  be  judged  for  the  hope  of 
the  promise  made  of  God  unto  our  fathers ;  unto  which  promise 
our  twelve  tribes,  earnestly  serving  God  night  and  day,  hope  to 
attain.  And  concerning  this  hope  I  am  accused  by  the  Jews, 
O  king !  Why  is  it  judged  incredible  with  you,  if  God  doth 
raise  the  dead?  I  verily  thought  with  myself,  that  I  ought  to 
do  many  things  contrary  to  the  name  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  And 
this  I  also  did  in  Jerusalem :  and  I  both  shut  up  many  of  the 
saints  in  prisons,  having  received  authority  from  the  chief  priests, 
and  when  they  were  put  to  death,  I  gave  my  vote  against  them. 
And  punishing  them  oftentimes  in  all  the  synagogues,  I  strove 
to  make  them  blaspheme  ;  and  being  exceedingly  mad  against 
them,  I  persecuted  them  even  unto  foreign  cities.  Whereupon 
as  I  journeyed  to  Damascus  with  the  authority,  and  commission 
of  the  chief  priests,  at  midday,  O  king,  I  saw  on  the  way  a  light 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       221 

from  heaven,  above  the  brightness  of  the  sun,  shining  round 
about  me  and  them  that  journeyed  with  them.  And  v^hen  vi^e 
vi^ere  all  fallen  to  the  earth,  I  heard  a  voice  saying  unto  me  in 
the  Hebrew  language,  Saul,  Saul,  why  persecutest  thou  nie  ?  it 
is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  goad.  And  I  said,  Who  art 
thou  Lord?  And  the  Lord  said,  I  am  Jesus  whom  thou  perse- 
cutest. But  arise,  and  stand  upon  thy  feet :  for  to  this  end  have 
I  appeared  unto  thee,  to  appoint  thee  a  minister  and  a  witness 
both  of  the  things  wherein  thou  hast  seen  me,  and  of  the  things 
wherein  I  will  appear  unto  thee  ;  delivering  thee  from  the  peo- 
ple, and  from  the  Gentiles,  unto  whom  I  send  thee,  to  open 
their  eyes,  that  they  might  turn  from  darkness  to  Hght,  and  from 
the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,  that  they  receive  remission  of  sins 
and  an  inheritance  among  them  that  are  sanctified  by  faith  in 
me.  Wherefore,  O  king  Agrippa,  I  was  not  disobedient  unto 
the  heavenly  vision  :  but  declared  both  to  them  of  Damascus  first, 
and  at  Jerusalem,  and  throughout  all  the  country  of  Judgsa,  and 
also  to  the  Gentiles,  that  they  should  repent  and  turn  to  God, 
doing  works  worthy  of  repentance.  For  this  cause  the  Jews 
seized  me  in  the  temple,  and  assayed  to  kill  me.  Having  there- 
fore obtained  the  help  that  is  from  God,  I  stand  unto  this  day 
testifying  both  to  small  and  great,  saying  nothing  but  what  the 
prophets  and  Moses  did  say  should  come  ;  how  that  the  Christ 
must  suffer,  and  how  that  he  first  by  the  resurrection  of  the  dead 
should  proclaim  light  both  to  the  people  and  to  the  Gentiles. 
And  as  he  thus  made  his  defence,  Festus  saith  with  a  loud  voice, 
Paul,  thou  art  mad  ;  thy  much  learning  doth  turn  thee  to  mad- 
ness. Paul  saith,  I  am  not  mad,  most  excellent  Festus ;  but 
speak  forth  words  of  truth  and  soberness.  For  the  king  knoweth 
of  these  things,  unto  whom  also  I  speak  freely  :  for  I  am  per- 
suaded that  none  of  these  things  is  hidden  from  him  ;  for  this 
hath  not  been  done  in  a  corner.  King  Agrippa,  believest  thou 
the  prophets  ?  I  know  that  thou  believest.  And  Agrippa  said 
unto  Paul,  With  but  little  persuasion  thou  wouldest  fain  make  me 
a  Christian.  And  Paul  said,  I  would  to  God,  that  whether  with 
little  or  with  much,  not  thou  only,  but  also  all  that  hear  me 
this  day,  might  become  such  as  I  am,  except  these  bonds.    And 


2  2  2       ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

the  king  rose  up,  and  the  governor,  and  Bernice.  and  they  that 
that  sat  with  them  :  and  when  they  had  withdrawn,  they  spake 
one  to  another,  saying.  This  man  doeth  nothing  worthy  of 
death  or  of  bonds.  And  Agrippa  said  unto  Festus,  This  man 
might  have  been  set  at  liberty,  if  he  had  not  appealed  unto 
Caesar. — Acts  xxvii. 

THIS  speech  resembles  the  two  which  precede 
it  in  being  a  personal  defence,  but  it  was 
delivered  under  circumstances  of  much  less  acute 
personal  danger.  The  speech  to  the  crowd  at 
Jerusalem  was  spoken  when  they  were  clamouring 
for  the  speaker's  death,  and  were  only  restrained 
by  the  swords  of  the  Roman  soldiery.  The  speech 
before  the  procurator  Felix  was  uttered  by  a 
prisoner  on  trial,  with  all  the  risk  of  condemna- 
tion by  a  judge  who  had  few  scruples,  and  was 
quite  open  to  a  bribe.  More  recently  St  Paul 
had  been  again  called  into  court  by  the  new 
procurator,  Festus,  and  had  been  again  ac- 
cused by  Jews  from  Jerusalem.  He  saw  the 
governor  inclining  to  surrender  him  to  the 
Jewish  Sanhedrim,  from  a  desire  to  ingratiate 
himself  with  his  new  and  very  troublesome 
subjects.  A  word — a  nod — from  Festus,  and 
the  fate  of  the  apostle  would  have  been  sealed. 
So  he  cut  the  matter  short,  before  it  should  be 
too   late,  by  claiming  his   right  as  a  Roman 


ST  PAUL  AT  CyESAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       223 

citizen  to  be  heard  at  the  emperor's  judment- 
seat.     "  I  appeal  unto  Caesar."     In  a  moment 
the  Jews  were  baffled.     Festus  conferred  with 
the  councillors  who  sat  with  him  as  assessors 
or   advisers   in    the  court.      They   could   only 
assure  him  that  the  appeal  was  well  taken  and 
could  not  be  refused.     So  far  as  the  provincial 
tribunals  were  concerned,  the  case  was  at  an 
end.      The   prisoner   must    be   sent   to  Rome. 
With  a  curtness  of  speech  which  perhaps  came 
from  a  feeling  of  annoyance  at  this  unexpected 
turn  in  the  affair,   the  procurator   said :    "  To 
Caesar  shalt  thou  go  !  "     From  such  a  Caesar  as 
then  occupied  the  imperial  throne,  what  justice 
or  mercy  could  this  unfriended  Jew  expect ! 

Now  was  St  Paul  quite  safe  till  the  appeal 
should  be  heard.  Therefore,  when  he  was  sum- 
moned once  more  into  the  audience-hall  of  the 
palace  at  Caesarea,  and  found  himself  in  the 
august  presence,  not  only  of  Festus  himself,  but 
of  his  guests,  the  young  King  Agrippa,  with  his 
sister  Berenice,  surrounded  by  the  chief  officers 
of  the  garrison  and  other  magnates  of  the  place, 
he  knew  that  it  was  not  a  criminal  court  in  "^ 
which  he  stood.  He  had  neither  to  fear  con-  ^ 
damnation  nor  to  hope  for  liberty. 


2  24      ST  PAUL  AT  CESAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

The  occasion  was  made  by  the  procurator 
for  two  reasons,  (i)  To  gratify  his  royal  guest, 
who,  as  one  of  the  Herodian  family,  knew 
Jewish  matters  well,  and  had  expressed  a  de- 
sire to  hear  this  famous  Paul  whom  the  San- 
hedrim had  for  years  denounced  as  an  arch- 
heretic.  (2)  To  find  out,  if  possible,  some  fault 
or  ground  of  charge  which  might  be  stated 
against  the  prisoner  in  his  report  to  the 
emperor.  Felix  had  left  Paul  bound,  but  had 
left  no  record  of  the  offence  or  offences  of 
which  he  was  alleged  to  be  guilty;  and  the 
passionate  outcries  of  the  Jews  in  the  trial 
before  Festus  had  left  no  distinct  impression 
on  the  governor's  mind. 

St  Paul  was  brought  in.  He  stood  alone, 
pale  from  long  confinement,  and  wearing 
fetters  ;  a  startling  contrast  to  the  gay  com- 
pany seated  or  reclining  on  their  gilt  couches 
— the  young  king,  the  fair  princess,  the  splen- 
didly-attired Roman  procurator,  with  all  his 
officers  and  grandees.  But  those  pomps  and 
dignities  had  no  power  to  dazzle  a  mind  like 
his.  We  may  be  sure  that  he  bore  himself  be- 
comingly, for  there  never  was  a  more  thorough 
gentleman  than  St  Paul  ;  but  he  paid  no  ob- 


ST  PAUL  AT  C.ESAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       2  25 

sequious  court  to  those  before  whom  he  was 
brought,  and  craved  no  favour  or  pity  at  their 
hands.  Festus  courteously  yielded  the  initiative 
to  his  guest  ;  so  it  was  Agrippa  who  broke 
silence,  and  bade  the  apostle  speak  for  himself, 
Then  without  hesitation  the  orator  began,  and 
with  his  habitual  earnestness  of  purpose  used 
the  great  opportunity  thus  given  to  him  to 
make  known  to  the  distinguished  assembly 
not  merely  his  own  history,  but  something 
also  of  that  Saviour  and  Lord  whom  he 
served,  and  of  that  Gospel  which  it  was  the 
purpose  and  passion  of  his  life  to  proclaim. 
The  entire  absence  of  any  tone  of  complaint 
or  even  of  selfish  anxiety  gives  a  singular  dig- 
nity to  this  oration.  It  was  Paul  who  had  the 
princely  spirit,  though  Agrippa  and  Festus  sat 
in  the  princely  seats. 

The  speech  opened  with  that  fine  tact  and 
courtesy  in  which  the  speaker  never  failed.  No 
word  of  flattery  did  he  address  to  the  king,  but 
he  well  and  neatly  said,  that  he  deemed  it  quite 
an  advantage  to  tell  his  story  to  one  so  expert 
in  customs  and  questions  of  the  Jews.  This 
was  strictly  true  of  Agrippa,  who  was  the  last 
scion  of  the  Herodian  stock,  and  had  been 
I' 


2  26       ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

carefully  trained  in  the  Jewish  law  and 
casuistry  by  his  father,  that  Herod  Agrippa 
who  killed  the  Apostle  James  at  Jerusalem,  and, 
when  he  saw  that  it  pleased  the  Jews,  seized  the 
Apostle  Peter  also. 

The  attitude  of  St  Paul  with  outstretched  hand, 
and  the  dignified  politeness  of  his  opening  sen- 
tence, must  have  arrested  the  attention,  not  of 
the  young  king  only,  but  of  all  the  brilliant" 
throng.  The  apostle  proceeded  to  unfold  his 
tale.  Once  more  he  went  over  the  story  of  his 
early  life  as  a  zealous  Pharisee,  and  his  bitter 
persecution  of  those  of  his  own  nation  who 
followed  and  loved  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  He  had 
treated  as  evil  doers  those  whom  he  now  per- 
ceived to  have  been  saints.  He  had  done  it  in 
a  conscientious  but  grievously  mistaken  mad- 
ness of  rage  against  them.  He  dwelt  on  this 
part  of  his  history  more  fully  than  in  any  pre- 
vious address,  for  now  he  understood  more 
clearly  and  felt  more  deeply  than  ever  before, 
what  it  was  to  be  persecuted  by  Pharisees, 
and  condemned  by  the  High  Priest  and  the 
Council,  and  shut  up  in  prison  for  the  name 
and  faith  of  Jesus.  What  he  himself  had 
suffered,  and  was  still  suffering,  recalled  more 


ST  PAUL  AT  CESAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       22  7 

vividly  and  circumstantially  to  his  memory  and 
conscience  what  wrongs  he  had  in  his  blind 
youth  inflicted  on  inoffensive  Christians. 

Then  he  told  of  the  vision  on  the  way  to 
Damascus,  and  that  also  more  fully  and 
minutely  than  before.  The  additions  are  in- 
teresting, e.g.  When  the  apostle  addressed  the 
mob  at  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem,  he  spoke 
Hebrew  or  Hebraic,  and,  therefore,  did  not 
mention,  for  the  people  would  assume  it,  that 
the  words  which  he  heard  from  the  Lord  as  he 
neared  Damascus  were  spoken  "  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue."  But  he  brought  out  this  particular 
when  speaking  in  Greek  to  this  company  at 
Csesarea.  It  is  here  too  that  the  expression  is 
first  reported — "  It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick 
against  the  goads,"  for  in  the  history  in  Acts 
ix.  it  has  been  interpolated.  This  seems  to 
have  been  a  proverb  among  the  ancients  to 
denote  a  vain  opposition  to  superior  power. 
It  was  taken  from  the  fields,  where  oxen,  used  in 
husbandry,  were  both  guided  and  spurred  for- 
ward by  strong  sharp  goads.  It  was  vain  for 
the  pricked  ox  to  kick.  The  occurrence  of  the 
proverb  here  shows  that,  as  was  His  custom  on 
earth,    so   also    in    His    communication    from 


228      ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

heaven,  the  Lord  Jesus  thought  best  to  em- 
ploy familiar  human  speech. 

We  also  gather  from  this  address  that  the 
commission  for  ministry  and  apostleship  which 
the  Lord  intended  for  Saul  of  Tarsus  was  re- 
vealed to  him  from  the  beginning  with  much 
more  fulness  than  appears  from  either  of  the 
previous  accounts  of  his  conversion — whether 
St  Luke's  narrative  (Acts  ix.)  or  St  Paul's 
own  statement  (Acts  xxii.).  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  the  speaker,  desirous  to  put  be- 
fore his  audience  in  as  brief  compass  as  pos- 
sible the  high  commission  with  which  he  was 
charged,  joined  to  the  words  actually  spoken 
on  the  way  to  Damascus  the  further  directions 
which  he  received  at  that  city^  and  in  the  sub- 
sequent vision  at  Jerusalem.  In  that  case,  the 
words  of  the  i6th  verse  may  be  read  as  a 
summary  of  all  that  the  Lord  had  on  several 
occasions  revealed  to  His  servant — "I  have 
appeared  unto  thee,  to  appoint  thee  a  minister 
and  a  witness." 

The  commission  to  preach  both  to  the  people 
(Israel)  and  to  the  Gentiles,  as  given  in  verse 
1 8,  is  full  of  importance,  because  couched  in  the 
very  words  of  the  exalted  Saviour.     The  order 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       229 

is  significant — beginning  at  Jerusalem,  then 
going  out  to  all  nations — first  trying  to  save 
the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,  then 
rescuing  other  sheep,  not  of  that  fold.  The 
action  prescribed  to  this  "minister  and  wit- 
ness" is  significant  also.  He  was  to  en- 
lighten the  people  and  the  Gentiles,  that  they 
might  turn  themselves  from  darkness  to  light,* 
and  from  the  power  of  Satan  which  brooded 
over  the  world,  to  God.  Further,  their  con- 
version was  to  be  sought  in  order  that  Jews 
and  Gentiles  might  obtain,  through  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ,  the  blessings  of  salvation.  These 
are  described  under  two  heads — (i)  Forgiveness 
of  sins  freely ;  (2)  An  inheritance  among  the 
sanctified,  or,  as  this  apostle  has  elsewhere 
expressed  it,  to  be  "fellow  citizens  with  the 
saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God." 

St  Paul  then  assured  the  king  that,  from  the 
day  in  which  he  had  received  this  sacred  com- 
mission, he  had  endeavoured  to  carry  it  out 
both  in  Judea  and  in  the  Gentile  countries. 
He  durst  not  disobey  the  heavenly  vision  ;  and 
it  was  from  no  restless  or  turbulent  disposition, 
but  because  he  felt  bound  to  follow  the  direction 

*  Comp.  Isa.  xlii.  6,  7 ;  i  Pet.  ii.  9,  10. 


230      ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

of  the  Lord  from  heaven,  that  he  had  pursued  a 
course  which  unhappily  roused  against  him  the 
antipathy  of  Jesus-rejecting  Jews.  For  this 
course  of  ministry  and  testimony,  and  not  for 
any  crime  as  they  pretended,  had  they  tried  to 
kill  him  at  Jerusalem.  But,  say  or  do  what 
they  might,  his  conscience  was  clear,  and  he 
rejoiced  that  thus  far  God  had  helped  him  to 
publish  the  Gospel.  Let  governors  and  princes 
beware  lest,  in  detaining  him,  they  should  be 
found  fighting  against  God.  None  of  the  plots 
of  the  Jews  against  him  had  succeeded.  He 
continued  till  that  day,  witnessing  both  to 
small  and  great.  His  testimony  in  no  wise 
dishonoured  Moses  and  the  prophets,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  honoured  them  by  showing  the 
fulfilment  of  ancient  oracles  in  the  Christ  who 
had  suffered  and  risen  again.  Nor  was  the 
light  brought  to  Israel  only :  it  was  turned  to 
the  Gentiles  also.  Let  the  Jewish  prince  and 
princess  think  of  it ;  let  the  Roman  procurator 
and  his  officers  think  of  it.  The  apostle  had  a 
treasure  of  light  and  salvation  for  them  all. 

He  was  in  the  full  tide  of  ardent  speech, 
when  an  exclamation  from  Festus  interrupted 
him.     It  was  a  common  thing  with  St  Paul  to 


ST  PAUL  AT  CESAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       23  I 

be  interrupted,  for  he  was  one  of  those  speakers  " 
who  draw  blood.     His  words  had  an  edge  and 
force  that  told  upon  his  hearers,  and  made  it 
impossible    for    them    to    continue    apathetic. 
Often   he   made   some   rage,  as  well  as  some 
exult  for  joy.     But  Festus  did  not  understand 
him  sufficiently  either  to  rage  or  to  rejoice.    The 
speech   had   gone   quite   beyond   his   reach  of 
ideas.     Visions  from  heaven,  fulfilment  of  old 
prophecies^  and  a  resurrection  from  the  dead. 
What  weak  stuff  is  this!  thought  the  heathen 
Roman.     This  man's  brain  must  be   sick  and 
troubled — perhaps  enfeebled  by  hard  treatment. 
And  then,  knowing   that  Paul  was  a  man  of 
study,  Festus   thought   it   best   to   ascribe   his 
strange  statements  to  an  over-tasked  and  un- 
sound   mind.      "  Thou  ravest !    much    learning 
doth  turn  thee  to  madness."     Thus  this  man, 
though  meaning  no  harm,  checked  and  spoiled 
by  his  stupid  impatience  a  speech  which,  even 
in   its   broken   form,  attracts   the  wonder   and 
praise  of  many  generations,  like  one  of  those 
exquisite  columns  in  the  Roman  Forum  or  Athe- 
nian Acropolis  which,  though   broken   by  the 
assault   of    barbarians,   attract   us   more    than 
many  unbroken  pillars  of  inferior  art. 


232       ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

The  apostle,  always  self-possessed,  replied  to 
his  Excellency  that  he  did  not  rave,  but  was 
"  speaking  words  of  truth  and  soberness."  Then 
he  appealed  directly  to  Agrippa,  who  had  been 
listening  with  an  intelligent  appreciation  which 
could  not  be  expected  of  the  heathen  governor. 
The  king  would  not  deny  that  Jesus  had  suffered, 
and  was  believed  by  many  to  have  risen  again. 
The  thing  was  notorious  in  the  whole  country, 
and  had  not  been  done  in  a  corner.  The  king 
would  not  deride  an  argument  founded  on  the 
books  of  Hebrew  prophets,  for  he  had  been 
trained  to  believe  those  prophets  from  his 
youth. 

The  procurator  could  not,  with  any  courtesy 
to  his  guest,  stop  such  an  appeal  as  this.  It 
was  Agrippa  who  had  given  the  sign  that  the 
speaker  should  begin  ;  and  so  long  as  the  king 
chose  to  hear  him,  he  should  be  allowed  to 
proceed.  But  now  Agrippa  spoke.  He  knew 
well  that  the  exclamation  of  Festus  was  a  foolish 
one,  but  he  did  not  like  to  be  pressed  so  hard, 
as  St  Paul  was  pressing  him,  in  regard  to  his 
own  convictions.  In  this  respect  he  bore  an 
ominous  resemblance  to  his  uncle,  Herod  Anti- 
pas,  who  was  desirous  to  see  Jesus  as  Agrippa 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       233 

had  been  to  see  Paul,  but  treated  the  most 
serious  matters  lightly,  and  ended  all  with 
mockery.  Agrippa  indeed  did  not  deride  the 
apostle,  as  Antipas  mocked  the  Saviour,  and 
set  Him  at  nought,  but  he  stopped  the  sober 
words  of  St  Paul  with  a  light  sarcasm.  Here 
again  he  makes  us  think  of  Pontius  Pilate  who, 
hearing  the  Lord  Jesus  say  that  every  one  who 
was  of  the  truth  would  hear  His  voice,  escaped 
from  the  gravity  of  the  statement  by  a  sarcastic 
question,  "What  is  truth.!*" 

Very     likely    Agrippa     had     uncomfortable 
qualms  and  misgivings  while  the  apostle  spoke. 
The   family  to  which   he   belonged  had    been 
fatally  implicated  with  the  name  and  cause  of 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.     His  grandfather,  Herod  the 
Great,  had  tried  to  kill  this  Jesus  in  infancy. 
His  uncle  had  killed  John  the  Baptist,  and  had 
mocked  Jesus  Himself  on  the  morning  of  His 
crucifixion.     His  father  had  killed  one  and  im- 
prisoned another  of  the  three  who  had  been  the 
most  intimate  friends  of  Jesus.     And  now  this 
famous  witness   for  Jesus  spoke   to  him,  and 
wanted  to  fasten  question  upon  him.     What  if 
this  earnest  man  were  right,  and  all  the  Herods 
had  been  wrong !     It  was  enough  to  make  the 


234      ST  PAUL  AT  C/ESAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

young  prince  pause ;  but  he  was  one  of  those 
men — and  they  are  not  few — who  hate  qualms 
of  conscience,  and  slip  away  from  awkward 
questions  and  disagreeable  situations  as  deftly 
as  they  can. 

The  exact  turn  of  his  expression  it  is  not 
easy  to  reproduce  in  English.  "Almost  thou 
persuadest  me  to  be  a  Christian "  reads  well, 
and  catches  the  memory,  but  is  not  an  accurate 
translation.  The  Revised  Version  is  clumsy — 
"With  but  little  persuasion  thou  wouldst  fain 
make  me  a  Christian."  The  meaning  certainly 
is  either  "  with  little  trouble,"  or  "  in  little  time," 
i.e.^  "very  summarily,"  or  "offhand  you  are  mak- 
ing a  Christian  of  me ! "  Agrippa  was  more 
impressed  than  he  wished  to  acknowledge,  and 
therefore  he  threw  a  sort  of  good-humoured 
irony  into  his  tone — "  Not  so  fast,  good  Paul ! 
You  must  not  think  that  you  will  offhand  con- 
vert a  king."  The  many  sermons,  and  the  books 
that  have  been  written  on  "the  almost  Chris- 
tian," have  no  doubt  done  good  service,  but 
they  do  not  properly  rise  out  of  the  exclama- 
tion of  Agrippa,  who  never  thought  of  being  an 
almost  or  undecided  Christian,  but  declined  to 
be  summarily  turned  into  a  real  Christian. 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       235 

St  Paul  penetrated  the  motive  of  the  king, 
and  on  the  spur  of  the  moment  gave  an  answer 
worthy  of  the  occasion,  and  worthy  of  a  servant 
of  God.  Serene  in  temper,  devout  in  spirit, 
he  expressed  not  a  wish  only,  but  a  prayer  to 
God,  that  all  who  heard  him  on  that  day  might 
anyway  (by  little  or  by  much)  become  as  he 
was,  except  as  to  his  bonds.  What  a  man  was 
this  by  the  grace  of  God  !  A  solitary  prisoner 
standing  before  princes  and  nobles,  so  sustained 
by  faith  and  a  good  conscience,  that  he  felt 
himself  in  a  region  quite  above  them,  and 
prayed  for  them  all  that  they  might  be  lifted 
up  to  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  the  same 
inward  peace  and  heavenly  hope !  A  prisoner 
who,  though  no  crime  had  been  proved  against 
him,  had  been  unjustly  confined  for  more  than 
two  years,  and  yet,  when  he  looked  at  the 
fetters  on  his  arms,  showed  no  feeling  of  anger 
or  vindictiveness  against  any  of  those  who  in- 
flicted on  him  such  suffering  and  ignominy 
without  cause,  desired  not  that  they  should  ever 
endure  what  he  had  endured,  but  to  his  prayer 
for  their  salvation  calmly  added  the  pathetic 
words — "  except  as  to  these  bonds." 

Some  sense  of  the  inherent  grandeur  of  the 


236       ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

man  and  his  mission  fell  on  the  shallow  heart 
of  Agrippa,  and  perhaps  on  many  others  in  the 
hall.  The  king,  without  a  word,  rose  from  his 
seat ;  and  it  was  the  signal  for  all  to  rise,  and 
for  the  prisoner  to  be  withdrawn.  It  was  agreed 
on  all  sides  that  Paul  was  an  ill-used  man. 
Agrippa  distinctly  said  to  Festus,  that  but  for 
the  appeal  to  Rome,  the  prisoner  should  at  once 
be  released.  Thus  sound  advice  often  comes  too 
late.  Felix  ought  to  have  seen  this  long  before. 
Indeed  he  did  see  it,  but  for  sordid  reasons 
would  not  do  justice  to  Paul.  Festus  should 
have  seen  it,  and  not,  through  his  complaisance 
to  the  Jews,  have  compelled  the  apostle  to 
take  appeal  to  Caesar.  One  ruler  after  another 
blundered  over  the  case,  and  did  injustice ;  but 
the  counsel  of  God  was  in  all  this,  that  St  Paul 
should  go  to  Rome  and  bear  most  memorable 
and  influential  witness  to  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
capital  city  of  the  world. 

"  He  has  done  nothing  worthy  of  bonds,''  said 
the  king,  and  then  passed  on  with  his  sister  to 
some  change  of  scene,  and  turned  from  one 
pleasure  to  another,  forgetting  all.  So  far 
as  we  know,  Agrippa  never  so  much  as  said 
another  word,  or  lifted  a  finger  to  have  justice 


ST  PAUL  AT  C^SAREA  TO  AGRIPPA.       237 

done  to  that  saintly  man,  or  ever  again  in  all 
his  life  came  so  near  being  a  Christian  as  in 
that  short  half-hour  at  Caesarea. 

Those  in  our  own  time  who  defeat  the  word 
of  the  Lord  by  a  superficial  habit  of  thought, 
or  deflect  its  edge  from  their  conscience  with 
some  kind  expression  toward  the  preacher,  or 
some  light  phrase  about  becoming  a  Christian, 
should  take  warning  from  the  case  of  Herod 
Agrippa.  He  was  young  and  well-instructed 
in  the  Scriptures — two  important  elements  in 
favour  of  his  conversion  ;  but  he  was  "  a  lover 
of  pleasures,"  and  the  seed  sown  by  St  Paul 
found  in  him  "  no  depth  of  earth."  There  are 
too  many  young  and  well-educated  persons 
still  who  "  like  a  good  sermon,"  and  are  quite 
willing  to  listen  to  it,  and  who  say  of  the 
preacher — not  merely  he  is  not  worthy  of 
bonds,  but  he  is  worthy  of  praise,  and  who 
sometimes  have  shooting  pains  of  conscience 
when  the  preacher  directly  appeals  to  them, 
but  will  not  yield  to  persuasion  there  and  then. 
They  rise  and  go  away.  Other  objects  catch 
their  eyes.  Lighter  themes  glide  into  their 
thoughts.     What   comes   of  all   their  approval 


238       ST  PAUL  AT  CiESAREA  TO  AGRIPPA. 

of  the  preacher — his  arguments  and  appeals  ? 
Nothing.  Worse  than  nothing.  A  heart  more 
hardened  still.  The  flesh  and  the  world  win 
the  day  ;  salvation  is  neglected,  and  the  Saviour 
despised  ! 


XIV. 

ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

'•  And  when  they  had  appointed  him  a  day,  they  came  to 
him  into  his  lodging  in  great  number  ;  to  whom  he  expounded 
the  matter,  testifying  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  persuading  them 
concerning  Jesus,  both  from  the  law  of  Moses  and  from  the 
prophets,  from  morning  till  evening.  And  some  believed  the 
things  which  were  spoken,  and  some  disbelieved.  And  when 
they  agreed  not  among  themselves,  they  departed,  after  that 
Paul  had  spoken  one  word.  Well  spake  the  Holy  Ghost  by 
Isaiah  the  prophet  unto  your  fathers,  saying,  Go  thou  unto 
this  people,  and  say,  by  hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  in  no 
wise  understand  ;  and  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  shall  in  no  wise 
perceive  :  for  this  people's  heart  is  waxed  gross,  and  their  ears 
are  dull  of  hearing,  and  their  eyes  they  have  closed  ;  lest  haply 
they  should  perceive  with  their  eyes,  and  hear  with  their  ears, 
and  understand  with  their  heart,  and  should  turn  again,  and  I 
should  heal  them.  Be  it  known  therefore  unto  you,  that  this 
salvation  of  God  is  sent  unto  the  Gentiles  :  they  will  also  hear." 
— Acts  xxviii.  23-28. 

AT  last  Paul  was  in  Rome.  He  had  long 
desired  to  see  the  Christians  there,  and 
his  heart  was  full  of  solemn  joy  when,  after 
passing  through  great  perils  of  the  deep,  he 
found  himself  in  Italy,  and  drew  near  to  the 
imperial  city.      At  the  Market  of  Appius  and 


240  ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

the  Three  Taverns,  a  few  miles  out,  he  was  met 
by  brethren  from  Rome,  "  Whom,  when  he  saw, 
he  thanked  God  and  took  courage."  Fraternal 
sympathy  was  always  dear  to  him,  and  never 
more  welcome  than  at  the  threshold  of  the  city 
where  he  must  needs  "  stand  before  Caesar." 

Even  in  the  dark  night  on  the  stormy  Adri- 
atic he  had  not  been  allowed  to  doubt  that  he 
would  reach  Rome.  An  angel  had  told  him 
that  he  would  certainly  stand  before  the 
emperor,  and  therefore  both  he  and  all  who 
were  in  the  ship  would  be  saved  from  the  deep. 
But  other  thoughts  besides  that  of  his  own 
safety  or  danger  occupied  his  mind  when  the 
brethren  met  him  in  the  way.  If  documents 
regarding  Paul  had  been  sent  along  with  him, 
they  had  doubtless  been  lost  in  the  shipwreck, 
and  a  long  time  might  elapse  before  his  appeal 
could  be  heard  by  the  emperor.  How  could 
he  best  employ  the  interval  for  the  ends  of  his 
ministry }  How  could  he  best  help  those 
brethren  in  the  faith  .?  And  what  could  he  do 
to  spread  the  faith,  especially  among  those  of 
his  own  race  who  lived  in  Rome  }  Then  as 
now,  the  Jews  flocked  to  populous  cities.  The 
number  of  them  then  resident  at  Rome  is  com- 


ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME.  24  I 

puted  on  good  grounds  at  60,000.  To  them 
the  first  thoughts  of  St  Paul  turned,  for  this 
noble-hearted  man  could  not  be  alienated  from 
his  own  nation  by  ever  so  many  injuries 
inflicted  on  him  in  other  places  by  the  malice 
of  the  Jews.  No  doubt  he  spoke  with  the 
brethren  on  their  way  into  the  city,  of  a  fresh 
attempt  to  win  those  Jews  to  Christianity :  and 
soon  after  he  reached  the  quarters  assigned  to 
him  by  the  authorities,  he  began  to  take  his 
measures  for  preaching  "  first  to  the  Jew."  We 
have  seen  that  at  Pisidian  Antioch,  at  Athens, 
and  elsewhere,  he  repaired  to  the  synagogues, 
and  there  found  the  audience  he  desired.  But 
this  course  was  not  possible  at  Rome,  because 
he  was  now  a  prisoner  confined  to  his  quarters 
in  custody  of  a  soldier.  He  therefore  invited 
the  chief  men  of  the  Jewish  community  to  the 
house  where  he  lived ;  and,  addressing  them  as 
brethren,  endeavoured  by  kindly  explanation 
to  remove  from  their  minds  any  unfavourable 
impression  of  his  attitude  towards  the  nation 
and  its  ancestral  customs  which  they  might 
have  received  from  hostile  reports.  The  Jews 
replied,  cautiously  enough,  that  they  had 
received  no  letters  or  reports  from  Judea  to  his 
Q 


242     ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

detriment.  They  were  willing  to  hear  what  he 
had  to  advance  ;  but  at  the  same  time  did  not 
conceal  from  him  that  the  sect  of  the  Nazarenes 
with  which  he  was  identified  had  a  bad  repute 
everywhere  among  Jews.  Rightly  or  not,  it 
was  "spoken  against;"  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  said  this  implied  that  in  their 
opinion,  the  sect  deserved  no  good  opinion. 
Paul  might  show  them  his  chains,  and  represent 
himself  as  bound  therewith  "  for  the  hope  of 
Israel ;"  but  the  current  impression  among  Jews 
was  that  Nazarenes  rejected  the  hope  of  Israel, 
and  turned  away  from  Moses  and  the  pro- 
phets. 

This  was  not  encouraging  to  the  apostle,  but 
at  all  events  it  was  a  point  gained,  that  his 
countrymen  had  come,  and  were  willing  to  hear 
him.  They  were  not  so  furiously  prejudiced 
against  him  as  the  mob  at  Jerusalem  who 
shouted  that  he  was  not  fit  to  live.  So  he 
closed  at  once  with  the  offer  of  his  visitors  : 
and  a  day  was  fixed  on  which  the  house  should 
be  open  to  all  Jews  who  might  be  willing  to 
come  together,  and  Paul  should  be  patiently 
heard.  We  may  feel  sure  that  in  the  interval, 
the  "  prisoner  of  Christ "  prayed  earnestly,  and 


ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME.     243 

the  Christians  in  Rome  prayed  too,  that  an 
occasion  so  critical  in  view  of  the  future  of 
both  Israel  and  the  Church,  might  be  turned  to 
best  account. 

The  day  came,  and  from  an  early  hour  the 
house  was  filled  with  Jews.  Then  St  Paul 
began.  He  had  not  to  make  a  personal  de- 
fence, as  at  Jerusalem  and  Caesarea.  He  had 
to  speak  of  the  hope  of  Israel.  It  was  a  subject 
which  had  occupied  his  thoughts  for  many  years, 
and  which  he  had  thoroughly  mastered.  So  he 
entered  on  a  full  exposition  of  the  writings  to 
which  all  his  hearers  attached  sacred  authority, 
and  showed  how  the  law  of  Moses  and  the 
books  of  the  prophets  bore  on  the  now  insti- 
tuted kingdom  of  God  and  the  now  proclaimed 
name  of  Jesus.  This  exposition  occupied  the 
whole  day  from  morning  till  evening,  with 
necessary  breaks,  no  doubt,  and  pauses  for 
questions  and  answers. 

But  where  is  the  speech  ?  We  are  ready  and 
eager  to  catch  the  apostle's  words,  and  find  to 
our  regret  that  St  Luke  has  not  reported  them. 
In  like  manner  the  same  writer  has  informed  us 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  delivered  a  Christian  ex- 
position of  the  Old  Testament  to  the  disciples 


244     ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

after  His  resurrection,  but  has  not  preserved  it, 
or  even  a  part  of  it,  for  our  use.*  It  is  quite 
probable  that  the  explanation  of  passages  from 
the  Old  Testament  which  are  found  in  St  Paul's 
epistles  formed  part  of  his  exposition  by  word  of 
mouth  at  Rome,  and  were  derived  from  the 
earlier  expositions  of  the  Lord  Jesus  piously 
repeated  by  those  who  heard  Him.  But  the 
entire  omission  of  the  consecutive  discourse  is 
none  the  less  significant.  It  seems  to  us  to  in- 
dicate that  God  did  not  and  does  not  now  wish 
His  Church  on  earth  to  be  furnished  once  for 
all  with  an  authorised  interpretation  of  Scrip- 
ture which  should  discourage  or  supersede 
searching  and  study  of  the  holy  oracles  by 
successive  generations  of  Christian  scholars, 
and  reduce  the  keenness  of  scrutiny  which  is 
excited  by  the  very  uncertainty  of  our  exegesis. 
The  multiplicity  of  suggestions  may  be  puzzling, 
the  diversity  of  commentaries  may  surprise  and 
perplex  some  minds  ;  but  this  is  better  than  the 
suppression  of  all  activity  of  thought  over  the 
pages  of  Scripture  by  the  dictation  of  one 
authorised  and  infallible  interpretation. 

This    consideration    bears    severely   on    the 

*  Luke  xxiv,  37,  44-46. 


ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME.  245 

claim  of  authority  which  is  made  for  the  voice 
of  tradition  and  of  the  Church  as  entitled  to  fix 
the  sense  of  Holy  Writ  If  it  was  right  to  de- 
prive the  early  Church  of  any  record  in  New 
Testament  books  of  that  exposition  of  the  Old 
Testament  which  was  delivered  by  the  Lord 
Jesus,  or  that  which  was  delivered  by  St  Paul, 
how  can  it  be  maintained  that  an  authorised 
interpretation  is  good  and  necessary  now  ? 
Even  if  this  could  be  proved,  we  should  have 
to  inquire  further — why  the  Church  of  Rome 
expects  us  to  go  to  her  alone  for  such  authentic 
and  unalterable  instruction  ?  But  we  dispute 
the  first  position  that  it  is  according  to  the 
Divine  intention  or  desire  that  all  Christians 
should  be  put  under  a  prescribed  and  uniform 
interpretation  of  sacred  Scripture.  So  saying, 
we  do  not  disparage  all  traditional  interpreta- 
tion or  deny  the  respect  due  to  Christian  an- 
tiquity. The  Lord  has  given  teachers  to  His 
people  ;  and  what  is  inculcated  by  a  succession 
of  teachers  is  the  more  on  that  account  entitled 
to  attention.  But  complete  and  infallible  com- 
mentary there  is  none.  Neither  ancient  fathers 
nor  modern  clergy  have  a  right  to  claim  such 
authority  for  their  expositions ;    and^those  of 


246     ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

Jesus  Christ  and  His  servant  Paul,  to  which 
all  must  have  deferred,  have  been  purposely- 
omitted  from  the  sacred  record. 

Though  we  have  not  St  Paul's  speech  on  this 
occasion,  and  the  relevancy  of  this  chapter  in  a 
study  of  apostolic  speeches  may  be  called  in 
question,  we  know  the  great  themes  on  which 
he  spoke  while  supporting  all  his  statements 
from  Moses  and  the  prophets.  They  were 
two — 

I.  He  ^^ testified  the  kingdom  of  God'' — And 
subsequently,  during  "  two  whole  years "  at 
Rome,  receiving  all  comers,  he  preached  the 
kingdom  of  God.  He  was  at  Rome,  the  seat 
of  empire.  Living  near  the  Pretorian  camp,  he 
must  have  heard  constantly  the  tread  of  legions 
and  the  clang  of  arms — signs  of  the  military- 
power  which  had  subdued  the  world.  But  the 
spirit  of  the  good  apostle  occupied  itself  far 
more  with  thoughts  of  a  greater  kingdom — one 
which  makes  very  little  of  the  things  on  which 
the  Roman  Empire  rested,  but  very  much  of 
"righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy- 
Ghost"  Caesar's  kingdom  was  soon  to  dwindle, 
but  the  kingdom  of  God  was  to  extend  far 
beyond  the  bounds  of  the  Empire  as  its  utmost 


ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME.  247 

stretch,  to  "  regions  Csesar  never  knew/'  to  cast 
its  skirt  over  all  nations,  and  reach  to  the  utter- 
most parts  of  the  earth.  It  was  easy  for  St 
Paul  to  show  to  his  Jewish  audience  that  David, 
Isaiah,  and  other  prophets  whom  they  professed 
to  honour,  had  foretold  such  a  kingdom  —  a 
reign  of  God  over  men,  not  in  little  Palestine 
only,  but  in  every  region  under  heaven. 

This     kingdom    the    apostle     testified     and 
preached.     He  announced  that  the  time  long 
appointed  for  its  beginning  had  arrived.     Al- 
ready it  was  among  men.     And,  as  for  himself, 
far  from  preferring  the  imperialism  of   Csesar, 
which    appeared    to    dominate  the  world;    far 
from  being   disposed  to  abandon  hopes  which 
the  prophets  had  breathed  from  days  of   old 
into  the  Hebrew  breast ;  he  was  there  to  pro- 
claim that  God  was  now  commencing  the  ful- 
filment of  that  hope,  and  making  known  the 
powers  of  a  kingdom  of  heaven  on  the  earth, 
into  which  it  was  the  privilege  of  the  Jews  to 
enter  first,  if  they  would  repent  and  believe  the 
.  Gospel. 

2.  He  persuaded  his  hearers  '' concernhig 
Jesus.'' — So  also  for  two  years  thereafter  St 
Paul  taught  to  all  comers  "  the  things  concern- 


248  ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

ing  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  Indefinite  as  the 
statement  is,  we  can  easily  conjecture  the  course 
which  the  apostle  followed.  He  showed  from 
the  Scriptures,  as  at  other  times,  that  the 
Messiah  was  destined  to  be  rejected  and  slain, 
and  thereafter  to  be  raised  from  the  dead. 
Then  he  told,  as  recent  matter  of  fact,  how 
all  this  was  fulfilled  in  Jesus,  who  was  con- 
sequently exalted  as  Lord  and  Christ ;  and 
raising  his  own  thought  and  the  thoughts  of  his 
hearers  above  the  power  of  that  human  incar- 
nation of  absolute  authority,  the  Caesar  who 
ruled  from  his  throne  in  that  city  over  so  many 
realms  and  nations,  he  expatiated  on  the 
dominion  and  glory  of  an  unspeakably  greater 
and  better  Lord  and  Ruler — Prince  of  life,  and 
King  of  kings.  He  showed  that  this  Jesus  was 
the  king  whom  God  had  anointed,  and  who  was 
able  to  order  and  rule  the  kingdom  of  God  with 
consummate  wisdom  and  power.  The  Roman 
Emperor  was  indeed  an  impersonation  of  human 
pride  and  self-will;  but  this  Ruler  over  the 
kingdom  of  God  was  and  is  the  bright  expres- 
sion of  the  Divine  will,  which  is  good-will  to 
men.  He  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father. 


ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME.      249 

So  the  earnest  apostle  taught  the  live  long 
day  in  that  primitive  St  Paul's  cathedral — "  his 
own  hired  house;"  and  the  day's  labour  was 
not  in  vain.  Some  of  the  Jews  were  persuaded 
by  the  exposition  and  argument,  and,  it  is  to  be 
presumed,  cast  in  their  lot  with  the  Christians 
at  Rome,  and  often  repaired  to  St  Paul's  house 
for  further  instruction  and  for  prayer.  But 
some  were  not  convinced  ;  and  in  the  evening 
the  assembly  broke  up  with  discordant  views 
and  feelings ;  not,  however,  before  the  apostle 
pronounced  a  heavy  reproof  on  the  blindness  of 
the  Jews,  and  intimated  that  the  salvation  would 
be  preached,  and  with  more  success,  to  the  Gen- 
tiles. The  close  of  his  address  to  the  Jews  at' 
Rome  resembled  the  close  of  his  speech  to  the 
Jews  and  proselytes  at  Pisidian  Antioch.  The 
circumstances  were  very  similar,  but  the  occa- 
sion at  Rome  was  for  obvious  reasons  the  more 
critical  for  the  Jews  themselves,  and  for  the 
future  attitude  of  Israel  towards  the  New  Testa- 
ment truth  and  liberty.  At  Antioch  St  Paul 
concluded  with  a  warning  from  the  book  of 
Habakkuk.  At  Rome  he  quoted  from  the 
sixth  chapter  of  Isaiah  in  the  Greek  version. 
The  infatuation  of  Israel  in  the  old  times  when 


250     ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

prophets  brought  messages  from  Jehovah  and 
were  not  heeded  now  reappeared  in  a  more  in- 
tense and  fatal  form,  when  the  testimony  re- 
garding the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the  teaching 
concerning  the  Lord  Jesus  was  brought  to  their 
ears,  and  they  would  not  believe.  As  the  pro- 
phesying in  a  former  age,  so  the  preaching  now 
only  served  to  stupify  and  blind  the  Jews  more 
and  more,  through  the  grossness  and  hardness 
of  their  hearts. 

St  Paul  had  made  proof  of  this  infatuation 
on  the  part  of  his  kinsman  after  the  flesh  in 
many  cities — in  Antioch,  Iconium,  Thessa- 
lonica,  Corinth,  Ephesus,  and  Jerusalem.  Now 
he  saw  it  in  Rome  also.  He  must  have  often 
traced  in  his  own  mind  the  correspondence  be- 
tween this  and  the  obduracy  which  the  ancient 
prophets  had  so  much  lamented  and  reproved ; 
and  now  with  a  heavy  heart  he  recognised  that 
Israel  was  surpassing  all  its  former  inveteracy, 
by  closing  its  eyes  and  hardening  its  heart 
against  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  True;  he  was 
aware  that  the  falling  away  of  the  Jews  at  that 
time  from  the  knowledge  and  favour  of  God  did 
not  involve  the  final  rejection  of  the  nation. 
He     ad  already  treated  of  that  subject  in  his 


ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME.     25  I 

Epistle  to  the  Romans.  He  had  given  reasons 
for  clinging  firmly  to  the  hope  that  the  chosen 
nation  will  ultimately  be  recovered  to  God,  and 
all  Israel  be  saved.  But,  by  the  quotation 
from  Isaiah,  which  he  sounded  in  the  ears 
of  the  unbelieving  Jews  at  Rome,  he  indicated 
the  position  into  which  the  people  so  long 
favoured  by  heaven  must  fall  through  their 
persistence  in  refusing  the  apostolic  testimony, 
and  the  opening  of  those  ''  times  of  the  Gen- 
tiles," during  which  Israel  which  was  nigh  to 
God  is  far  off,  and  nations  which  were  far  from 
God  are  brought  nigh. 

With  what  deep  emotion,  what  grief  at  heart, 
must  Paul  as  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews, 
have  spoken  these  parting  words!  He  had 
more  than  the  natural  chagrin  of  a  clear 
thinker  and  teacher  who  perceives  that  the 
minds  of  his  hearers  are  shut  against  him,  and 
all  his  exposition  and  reasoning  are  thrown 
away.  He  had  the  vexation  of  a  son  of  Israel, 
who  was  obliged  for  the  truth's  sake  to  separate 
from  the  leaders  of  the  synagogues,  and  to  see 
them  with  the  bulk  of  the  Jewish  people  turn 
away  from  him  as  from  a  false  Rabbi  or  a 
renegade.     No  Israelite  ever  loved  Israel  more 


252  ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

than  Paul  of  Tarsus  did.  Yet  he  had  to  pro- 
nounce on  his  nation  a  woe  which  has  now 
lasted  more  than  eighteen  hundred  years.  So 
far  as  Judaism  is  religious  now,  it  is  a  dry  sap- 
less thing,  pervaded  by  a  tone  of  monotony 
and  melancholy,  with  no  power  or  desire  to 
propagate  itself.  But,  to  a  large  extent,  it  is  an 
irreligious  and  unspiritual  thing  in  the  modern 
world — its  heart  made  gross  by  worldliness,  and 
its  influence  closely  allied  with  the  growth  of 
rationalism. 

No  sinister  feeling  of  triumph  touched  the 
apostle  as  he  made  known  to  those  unbelieving 
Jews  the  fate  which  was  befalling  their  nation. 
He  had  long  foreseen  this  as  a  likely  issue ; 
he  fought  against  it  to  the  last  moment ;  and 
the  perception  that  it  was  now  inevitable  caused 
him  poignant  sorrow  and  unceasing  pain  at  his 
heart.  Such  pain,  such  sorrow,  lies  in  a 
measure  on  the  heart  of  every  Hebrew  Chris- 
tian in  the  world  to-day,  as  he  thinks  of  his 
own  nation,  so  separate,  so  indestructible,  so 
unique,  and  yet  spiritually  so  infatuated  and 
hardened — their  hearts  waxed  gross,  their  ears 
dull,  and  their  eyes  closed. 

Gentile  Christians  but  imperfectly  enter  into 


ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME.     253 

this  feeling.  They  are  apt  to  be  not  sorry  so 
much  as  indignant  at  the  bitter  and  prolonged 
hostility  of  the  Jews  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
the  testimony  of  His  holy  apostles.  Martin 
Luther  had  much  of  the  evangelical  thorough- 
ness and  fervour  of  St  Paul,  and  Gentile  as  he 
was,  felt  deep  concern  at  the  opposition  of  the 
Jews  in  Germany  to  the  Gospel.  At  first  he 
cherished  a  hope  that  when  the  Reformation 
had  exhibited  to  them  a  Christianity  purged 
from  image  worship  and  other  heathen  prac- 
tices, they  would  be  drawn  to  the  faith  which 
he  and  his  co-reformers  professed.  In  this  ex- 
pectation he  was  quite  disappointed,  and  then 
he  showed  how  far  he  fell  short  of  St  Paul, 
not  only  in  Jewish  feeling,  but  in  Christian 
patience,  for  he  broke  out  in  severe  invective 
against  the  German  Jews,  and  called  for  violent 
measures  against  them. 

Violent  measures,  however,  taken  with  any 
people  or  class  of  men  on  the  score  of  their 
religion,  are,  as  all  intelligent  persons  now 
know  and  admit,  wrong  and  ineffective.  The 
case  of  the  Jews  requires  firm  argument,  but 
also  great  patience.  It  is  our  duty  to  bear 
witness  to  them,  as  some  of  their  race  bore- 


254     ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME. 

witness  to  the  ancestors  of  the  present  Gentile 
nations  long  ago.  As  we  have  opportunity  we 
are  to  show  them  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  the 
claims  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  out  of  their 
own  Scriptures — but  with  much  long-suffering, 
for  their  hearts  really  are  gross,  and  their  eyes 
and  ears  shut  against  such  truth  as  we  incul- 
cate. Even  if  we  had  all  the  scriptural  know- 
ledge of  St  Paul,  and  all  his  yearning  sympathy, 
we  should  still  have  disappointments  in  preach- 
ing to  Jews ;  but  let  us  learn  from  him  the 
right  temper  and  attitude  of  the  Church  to- 
wards desolate  and  scattered  Israel — praying 
for  Israel,  warning  Israel,  offering  to  show  to 
Israel  the  fulfilment  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
of  ancient  hopes  and  promises ;  and  however 
long  the  time  of  obduracy,  waiting  with  far- 
stretching  hope  for  the  day  of  restoration — the 
healing  of  the  chosen  nation,  and  the  joy  and 
peace  of  Jerusalem. 

A  sad  sight  this  after  St  Paul's  all-day 
teaching — hearers  going  hardened  away!  A 
rather  mournful  close  to  our  study  of  the  apos- 
tolic speeches !  But  it  really  is  a  sight  which  too 
probably  the  angels  see  at  the  close  of  every 
public   discourse  on   the   truth  of  the  Gospel. 


ST  PAUL  TO  JEWS  AT  ROME.     255 

Lamentations  are  being  made  over  the  neglect 
of  many  to  go  to  the  house  of  prayer  and  in- 
struction when  the  doors  are  open.  It  seems 
to  us  a  more  sad  thing  still,  that  so  many  enter 
in  and  hear  the  Gospel,  and  then  go  out  just  as 
they  entered — without  conviction,  without  faith. 
Some  believe  ;  howbeit  some  believe  not. 

In  ninety-nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred,  the 
reason  of  this  unbelief  is  not  intellectual  but 
moral.  Men  resist  impression  and  submission  to 
the  truth  because  they  wish  still  to  follow  their 
own  pleasures,  and  they  love  the  world.  They 
come  and  hear  the  Word  because  others  come 
and  hear ;  but  they  shut  the  avenues  of  con- 
viction, and  bar  the  door  at  which  Christ  might 
enter.  Thus  they  repeat  the  sin  of  those  Jews 
who  went  away  from  the  ministry  of  St  Paul 
unbelieving,  and  they  do  it  with  less  excuse. 


CONCLUSION. 

WE  do  not  dispute  that  St  Luke's  history 
may  have  been  written  with  an  ireni- 
cal  purpose.  St  Paul  to  whom  he  was  strongly 
attached  had  been  more  perversely  misrepre- 
sented, and  assailed  than  any  one  of  the  ser- 
vants of  Christ ;  and  therefore  he  wrote  to  ex- 
hibit the  harmony  of  St  Paul's  Christianity  with 
that  of  the  earlier  apostles,  as  well  as  the  process 
by  which  he  had  been  led  to  take  a  wider  scope 
of  thought  and  ministry,  and  the  wise  resolution 
with  which  he  had  rescued  the  Church  from  the 
trammels  of  Jewish  restriction.  The  book  of 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  tells  us  exactly  what 
it  is  indispensable  for  us  to  know  in  order  to 
understand  and  appreciate  the  epistles  which 
follow.  It  is  a  wonderful  tale,  well  told ;  and 
all  the  more  satisfactory  that  it  allows  the 
apostles  Peter  and  Paul  to  speak  for  themselves, 
and  so  allows  us  to  catch  their  sentiments  in 


CONCLUSION.  257 

their  own  words,  while  we   seem  to  see  their 
gestures  and  hear  their  tones. 

It  is  of  some  importance  to  remember  that 
our  holy  religion  originated  in  a  spoken  not  a 
written  Word.  In  the  days  of  old,  God  spoke 
to  Abraham,  to  Moses,  and  to  the  prophets  ;  and 
they  spoke  what  He  spoke  to  and  through 
them.  The  record  of  those  words  was  an  after 
arrangement  for  the  preservation  of  the  truth 
so  revealed,  and  its  transmission  in  an  authentic 
form  to  future  generations.  We  open  the  New 
Testament,  and  find  John  the  Baptist  preaching, 
not  writing,  then  our  Saviour  speaking  such 
words  as  mere  man  spake,  not  writing — project- 
ing Himself  orally  on  the  world  which  He 
would  save,  and  leaving  it  to  others  to  put 
those  words  on  record.  So  the  Church  began 
with  and  by  the  word  of  God — an  oral  testi 
mony  not  a  written  book.  Christ  spoke  ;  thei. 
His  apostles  and  prophets  spoke.  At  least  a 
score  of  years  passed  before  the  primitive 
Church  had  any  authorised  written  report  of 
those  sayings  and  discourses.  The  word  of  the 
Lord  which  grew  and  multiplied  was  the  word 
spoken  by  those  who  had  the  mind  of  Christ. 
It  was  "the  word  of  good  tidings   preached," 

R 


258  CONCLUSION. 

and  to  be  preached,  to  every  creature.  After 
the  Church  was  formed,  some  of  the  more  im- 
portant speeches  of  the  apostles  were  put  on 
record  by  St  Luke,  and  several  of  the  apostles 
themselves  wrote  or  dictated  letters  which  have 
been  reverently  preserved,  for  the  admonition 
and  edification  of  the  saints. 

This  original  characteristic  our  religion  can- 
not afford  to  lose.  It  may  be  greatly  served 
by  the  pen,  but  it  can  never  lay  aside  the  sword 
of  the  mouth.  Let  Christian  periodicals  and 
books  be  ever  so  much  multiplied,  let  copies  of 
Holy  Scripture  be  ever  so  widely  diffused, 
nothing  can  supersede  personal  oral  testimony 
to  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Gospel.  It  is  often 
said,  and  truly,  that  the  Church  needs  more 
Power  from  on  high,  such  as  she  received  at 
the  beginning.  Rely  upon  it,  that  the  Power 
will  use  the  same  organs  and  instruments  as  at 
the  beginning,  viz.,  apostolic  men  and  apos- 
tolic speeches. 


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strong  book  are  largely  due  to  the  author's  gift  of  bringing  out  the 
essential  human  characteristics." — English  Presbyterian  Messenger. 

"  Dr  Dods  is  a  man  with  a  vein  of  a  very  peculiar  genius  running, 
through  an  intellectual  and  moral  nature  of  the  highest  excellence. 
This  is  a  book  which  should  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  young.  There 
is  a  calm  but  very  bracing  and  searching  breeze  blowing  through  the 
book.  It  makes  the  reader  think,  it  sometimes  makes  him  dream,  but 
it  is  also  calculated  to  make  him  act." — Lojidon  IVeekly  Review. 

*'The  production  of  a  man  of  learning,  of  clear  and  comprehensive 
perception,  of  careful  but  vigorous  thought,  and  of  devout  spirit.  Its 
literary  characteristics  are  as  good  as  the  most  cultured  mind  could 
wish.  The  book  by  Dr  Dods  is  interesting  aud  instructive  from  be- 
ginning to  end." — Baptist  Magazine. 

"Admirably  treated  subject  for  the  'Household  Library.'  The 
style  is  throughout  simple,  touching,  kindly  and  attractive.  The  de- 
scription of  Jacob's  Dream  is  surpassingly  beautiful,  quite  equal  to 
Ruskin's  word-painting  of  the  same." — Westeyan  Methodist  Magazine. 

' '  There  is  no  sign  of  falling  off  in  this  admirable  timely  and  useful 
series.  Of  these  studies  we  can  only  say,  that  they  are  in  every  way 
worthy  of  their  author." — Literary  World. , 

132  PRINCES  STREET,  EDINBURGH. 


%.hz  '^onszhol'b  pbrarj)  of  Exposition. 
THE    LAST  supper'  OF  OUR  LORD 

And  His  Words  of  Consolation  to  the  Disciples. 
By  J.  Marshall  Lang,  D.D.,  Barony  Church,  Glasgow. 

Crown  2)V0.     Price  3x.  6d. 

OPINIONS  OF  THE   PRESS. 

*  *  We  cannot  too  strongly  express  our  admiration  of  these  Bible  studies ; 
they  well  deserve  a  place  in  the  '  Household  Library  of  Exposition/  of 
which  they  are  the  fourth  volume.  In  days  when  the  errors  of  Ritualism 
and  Sacramentarianism  seem  coming  in  upon  us  like  a  flood,  and  so 
much  is  made  of  the  externals  of  the  Christian  life,  it  is  refreshing 
beyond  degree  to  accompany  Dr  Lang  through  the  green  pastures  and 
still  waters  of  these  most  enjoyable  and  profitable  meditations.  All  the 
incidents  of  that  supreme  occasion,  all  the  gracious  '  table  talk  *  of  the 
Master,  are  rehearsed,  invested  with  a  new  lustre,  and  transmuted  into 
soul-sustenance  that  will  be  eagerly  and  thankfully  assimilated  by  the 
spiritually-minded  reader.  Every  chapter  is  so  richly  laden  with  the 
highest  and  most  timely  lessons  that  it  is  difficult  to  particularize,  but  we 
attach  much  importance  to  the  chapters  that  unfold  the  true  import  and 
uses  of  the  commemorative  feast.  We  greatly  need  such  wise  and  help- 
ful teaching,  and  Dr  Lang  has  done  his  generation  a  service  that  will, 
we  trust,  be  fully  appreciated." — The  Christiati. 

"  Will  form  a  devout  and  evangelical  companion  for  those  to  whom 
the  Supper  is  a  precious  privilege  and  joy." — Christian  World. 

'*  Rare  to  meet  with  a  work  like  it.  It  is  full  of  sentences,  on  which 
one  likes  to  linger." — Lt/e  and  Work. 

"Preachers  and  students,  as  well  as  those  who  do  not  require  to 
expound  the  Scriptures,  will  find  a  helping  hand  in  Dr  Lang." — 
Theological  Quarterly. 

"  With  no  claims  to  the  character  of  a  critical  or  doctrinal  exposition, 
has  the  higher  merit  of  being  a  reverend  and  sympathetic  study  of  the 
intensest  hours  of  that  unique  life.  .  .  With  a  rare  power  of  insight — 
the  result  doubtless  of  much  inward  experience — Dr  Lang  has  entered 
into  the  very  inmost  spirit  of  the  scenes  and  incidents,  the  words  and 
feelings  which  make  up  the  history  of  that  night.  Earnestness  without 
a  tinge  of  fanaticism  is  the  chief  characteristic  of  the  work.  Alike  in 
spirit,  in  tone,  and  in  literary  form,  this  small  volume  is  well  fitted  to 
be  the  devout  Christian's  companion." — Scotsman. 

**  There  is  a  studied  simplicity  in  the  language  which  is  admirably  in 
keeping  with  the  solemnity  and  grandeur  of  the  theme.  We  have  no 
attempt  at  fine  writing,  and  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  anything  like 
sensationalism.  A  book  which  gives  evidence  of  remarkable  ability, 
and  which  will  certainly  take  its  place  among  the  most  interesting 
treatises  on  the  subject  of  the  Lord's  Supper." — Daily  Review. 

132  PRINCES  STREET,  EDINBURGH. 


Bible  Class  Ip^timets. 

EDITED  BY  PROFESSOR  SALMOND,  D.D. 


LIFE  OF  DAVID . 

By  the  late  Rev.  Peter  Thomson,  M.A.,  St  Fergus.    With  Maps. 
Sixth  Thousand.     Cloth,  price  8d.,  paper  6d. 

The  Dean  of  Norwich  (E.  M.  Goulburn,  D.D.)  says:— -"The  writer 
seems  to  treat  his  subject  both  succinctly  and  learnedly,  and  while  saying  nothing  to 
impair  the  reverence  which  should  be  paid  to  Holy  Scripture  as  God's  inspired 
word,  to  keep  abreast  of  the  literature  of  the  day  and  the  progress  which  has  been 
made  in  the  knowledge  of  Hebrew." 

The  Dean  of  Lichfield  (Ed.  Bickersteth,  D.D.)  says:— "The  little 
book  shows  more  than  ordinary  scholarship  and  culture,  and  it  appears  to  me  to  be 
full  of  information  given  in  an  interesting  and  original  form.  I  can  heartily  recom- 
mend it  for  the  purpose  for  which  you  have  published  it." 

LIFE  OP  MOSES. 

By  the  Rev.  James   Iverach,  M.A.,  Aberdeen.      With  Map. 
Thirteenth  Thousand.     Cloth,  price  8d.,  paper  6d. 

"  Is  exactly  what  it  professes  to  be.  Is  full  of  the  results  of  reading,  is  written 
in  a^  quiet  and  attractive  way,  and  combines  scholarship  with  really  popular  art  in 
treatment.  Useful  as  a  book  of  reference  or  for  special  preparation,  it  is  also  a  book 
to  read  systematically,  and  in  this  respect  Dr  Gloag  has  scored  an  undoubted  suc- 
cess."— Outlook. 

LIFE  OF  PAUL. 

By  the  Rev.  J.  Paton  Gloag,  D.D.,  Galashiels.      With  Map. 
Second  Thousand.     Cloth,  price  8d.,  paper  6d. 

'  Dr  Gloag's  little  work  is  a  model  of  careful  condensation,  and  it  may  be  stated 
that  it  is  written  in  a  simple  manner." — Conrant. 

_  "The  work  has  been  entrusted  to  competent  hands,  and  for  accuracy,  condensa- 
tion, and  completeness  of  information,  this  little  book  could  not  well  be  surpassed." — 
Daily  Review. 

BIBLE    WORDS    AND    PHRASES    EXPLAINED    AND 
ILLUSTRATED. 

By  Charles  Michie,  M.A.,  Aberdeen.     i8mo,  cloth,  price  is. 

"The  compiler  has  performed  his  task  in  a  most  satisfactory  manner,  producing  a 
manual  that  ought  to  be  in  the  hands  of  every  reader  of  the  English  Bible." — Glcn- 
gov)  Daily  Mail. 

"  A  boon  not  only  to  the  young  people  in  Bible  classes,  but  also  to  Sunday-school 
teachers,  and  even  to  ministers.  There  is  no  reader  of  the  English  Bible  who  may 
not  derive  profit  from  a  careful  study  of  this  little  hand-book." — Christian  Leader. 

SOLOMON  AND  THE  KINGDOM  UNDIVIDED. 

By  the  Rev.  Rayner  Winterbotham,  M.A.,  LL.B.      Cloth, 
price  8d.,  paper  6d. 

Others  in  Preparation. 


132  PRINCES  STREET,  EDINBURGH. 


Crown  Zvo,     Price  ds. 

THE     EVANGELICAL    SUCCESSION: 

A  Course  of  Lectures  delivered  in  St  George's  Free  Church, 
Edinburgh. 

The  special  object  of  these  Lectures  is,  as  the  title  indicates,  to  ex- 
hibit the  genius  of  the  Evangelical  Principle ;  to  trace  its  manifestation, 
development,  and  vicissitudes  in  various  ages  of  the  church  and  human 
history ;  and  to  illustrate  its  ruling  and  moulding  povi^er  over  diverse 
types  of  national,  intellectual,  and  spiritual  character.  The  Lectures 
are  biographical,  historical,  popular,  and  distinctly  evangelical. 

CONTENTS. 

EAUL  THE  APOSTLE. 

By  the  Rev.  Principal  RAINY,  D.D.,  Edinburgh. 

AUGUSTINE,  BISHOP  OF  HIPPO. 

By  the  Rev.  MARCUS  DODS,  D.D.,  Glasgow. 

COLUMBA,  FOUNDER  OF  lONA. 

By  the  Rev.  JAMES  C.  MAC PH AIL,  Edinburgh. 

ANSELM  OF  CANTERBURY. 

By  the  Rev.  Professor  THOMAS  SMITH,  D.D.,? Edinburgh. 

BERNARD  OF  CLAIRVAUX. 

By  the    Rev.    Professor    THOMAS    M.    LINDSAY,    D.D., 

Glasgow. 

JOHN  WICLIFF. 

By  the  Rev.  Principal  BROWN,  D.D.,  Aberdeen. 

MARTIN  LUTHER. 

By  the  Rev.  Professor  Sx\LMOND,  D.D.,  Aberdeen. 


[32  PRINCES  STREET,  EDINBURGH. 


Date  Due 


